Melatonin

[Kn0g00d]

Hi,

I'm breastfeeding my 7-week old baby and have trouble falling asleep at night. I was wondering if Melatonin is safe to take?

thanks,
Kelly

[admin]

Kn0g00d

Its probably reasonably safe, and to be honest, not very effective. I'd instead work on you sleep habits.

Tom Hale PhD.


From my book:

On the average, the amount of melatonin in human milk is about 35% of the maternal plasma level but can range to as high as 80%.[1] Post feeding milk levels appear to more closely reflect the maternal plasma level than pre-feeding values, suggesting that melatonin may be transported into milk at night, during the feeding, rather than being stored in foremilk. In neonates, melatonin levels are low and progressively increase up to the age of 3 months when the characteristic diurnal rhythm is detectible.[2] Night-time melatonin levels reach a maximum at the age of 1-3 years and thereafter decline to adult values.[3,4,5] While night-time maternal serum levels average 280 pmol/L, milk levels averaged 99 pmol/L in a group of ten breastfeeding mothers.[1] The effect of orally administered melatonin on newborns is unknown, but melatonin has thus far not been associated with significant untoward effects.