When a mother falls sick, and is being prescribed medication by the doctor, a lot of worries might come to mind.

Will it be safe for my baby if I take this?

Do I need to stop breastfeeding if I take this medication?

 

As explained by Dr. Goh, “In general, unless stated by the doctor, a mother is safe to breastfeed her child when she’s unwell and is taking medication. Most medication that mothers take, will definitely fuse into the breast milk, but in an extremely low quantity that it’s almost negligible.Common medications like paracetamol, painkiller, and multivitamin; even if they crossed over, it will not affect the baby at all so the mother is still safe to breastfeed.”

 

There are a number of drugs/treatments that have been contra-indicated; where mothers should not breastfeed if they are on those drugs/ treatments. Those are:

• Recreational drugs such as Cocaine, Cannabis, and Enthiamine.
• Chemotherapy; where the mother is being treated for cancer.
• When they are treated for Thyroid disease, where they are being treated with a radioactive substance; radioactive iodine.

 

The best thing to do is to always consult the doctor who prescribed the medicine to you. You should always tell your doctor if you are pregnant, or breastfeeding because it will influence what they will prescribe to you.

 

“At the end of the day, apart from medical constriction, breastfeeding is an individual choice. Is breastfeeding good? Most if not all would say “absolutely”, that even the doctors and WHO, recommend it. Mothers should also know that the best thing in life that you could offer to your child is not necessarily always have to be expensive. It could be free, like breastfeeding.” said Dr. Goh.

 

 

Breastfeeding Under Special Circumstances

Breastfeeding is always encouraged especially for the first few years of the child. However, under certain medical restrictions, a mother should stop breastfeeding as it is feared to be affecting the baby’s condition and health.

 

These are mothers on medical conditions, and on what circumstances are they not allowed/not advisable to breastfeed?

 

1. Tuberculosis

 

Mothers with Tuberculosis are not advised to breastfeed because of the close proximity of the mother and the child. The mother is allowed to feed her baby with her expressed milk though, provided there is someone to help her to feed the child.

 

 

2. Postpartum Depression

 

Postpartum Depression is a condition of depression after delivery. PPD may happen soon after delivery or up to an incoming year. PPD happens when the mother is very depressed, that she actually loses much energy, gets very fatigue that she may not have the emotional or mental motivation.

 

Can a mother with PPD continue breastfeeding her child?

Yes, she can, in fact, she should, only if she feels she is able to. PPD is a huge range that some mothers might just have mild depression that it doesn’t affect them much while some might get really down until the extent of needing psychiatric help; in terms of consultation and even the need of medication.

 

In a very extreme case of PPD, they could get psychosis – where they actually feel, see, hear, or hallucinate about an illusion that is not real. It is basically a mental illness and in that situation, it may not be safe for her to breastfeed as it’s afraid that she will inflict harm to the child.

 

 

3. Chinese Herbs while Breastfeeding

 

Sometimes, while keeping to traditional practices is good, not all are suitable in terms of practicality. Taking Chinese herbs is common, but it is actually very much depending on what you eat.

 

In medical terms, it is not really recommended, and the mothers should be more cautious because as far as the preparation of these herbal medications is concerned, you do not know the actual chemical quantity in one preparation. Chinese herbs may actually contain more chemically excessive substance as it is not prepared in a controlled amount. Until a complete study has been made, we cannot tell what or how much we actually consume from a serving.

 

There is not any study done to indicate whether it is totally safe, or beneficial to the mothers who are breastfeeding as there will never be such a study done. It is very unlikely to conduct a study on pregnant women or breastfeeding women experimenting on how these Chinese herbs would affect or benefit the child.

 

So generally, doctors will advise to avoid taking too much herbal preparation when a mother is breastfeeding.