Breastfeeding and Humira?

[RAmommy]

I am about to give birth to my first child, I have RA and have been on Humira. Is it okay to continue being on Humira and breastfeeding my child? Is there studies that have shown the amount of Humira that could be in breast milk?

Thanks
Alissa

[admin-james]

We do not have data on Humira. We do for infliximab(Remicade) and etanercept(Enbrel), which are similar molecules. Both of these transfer into human milk very minimally. Only 0.07% - 0.154% of the dose of Enbrel enters milk, and only about 0.3% of infliximab enters milk. This is about as low as you can get.

Neither have been found to cause problems for the breastfed infant. I would assume the same for Humira since it is largely the same product. Even if present in milk, they would only be digested like proteins and none would likely be absorbed.

In my opinion, you and your infant are far better off continuing to breastfeed while taking these medications than to formula feed.

-Thomas W. Hale and InfantRisk Staff