Breastfeeding & Antidepressant and Insomnia Medication?

[JennyBoo1980]

Hi there,

I am expecting in March and currently taking a few medications for depression/anxiety/insomnia and want to know if it is safe to continue with these medications when it comes times to breastfeed (which I would really prefer to do!)

I am currently taking 250mg of Effexor, 1mg of Clonazepam...and in the evenings, 7.5mg of zopliclone and 25mg of seroquel (I have reduced my intake greatly over the past year).

Can anyone tell me if these meds are safe while breastfeeding or suggest any modifications that would make it safe?

Thanks so much.

[admin-james]

Hi, thanks for your post.

These are all fairly safe drugs to use with breastfeeding. You are on typical low- to mid-range doses. The only downside to this regimen is that all of these drugs cause sedation in infants. Your baby will only be getting a little of the medication through the breastmilk, but you should make sure he or she is able to wake up for feedings and that kind of thing. Standard SIDS precautions apply as well. If your baby has no signs of medication exposure, then you can consider this group of meds to be safe for your situation; there are no "hidden" dangers of these meds that we know of.

Please call us at the InfantRisk Center if this has not completely answered your question.*(806)352-2519

-James Abbey, MD