Cough Medication While Breastfeeding

Having a new baby is life changing and at times exhausting. If a mother experiences a cold or cough, she may wonder if breastfeeding while taking medication is safe. Breastfeeding mothers who have a cough and choose to take medication can feel confident in doing so. Various over the counter and prescription medications have been studied and proven compatible with breastfeeding.

Necessity

The first question is do you need a medication?

As annoying and painful as a cough can be, it is first important to determine if cough medication is necessary. The mother and her health care professional can determine together if she has other measures for relieving a cough or if it actually requires medication. Some coughs may resolve without medication while others need medication for the mother to be well enough to care for her baby.

Risk

Will the medication negatively affect mom, the milk supply, or baby?

Each medication considered can be weighed for the risk it has to the mother, her milk supply, and her baby. Drugs taken by the mother are transferred into the breast milk. The amount the baby ingests depends on several factors such as the baby's age, dosage of the medication, and what medication is used. Many over the counter and prescription medications are assigned a lactation risk category to determine the level of risk for breastfeeding. The American Academy of Pediatrics and Dr. Thomas Hale publish research based information on the safety of breastfeeding and certain medications. Breastfeeding while taking cough medication is possible with medications that pose little risk to all involved. When the risk outweighs the benefit for the use of a medication it is best to seek an alternative.

Benefit

Sometimes a happy mom equals a happy baby.

A mother who is very ill, coughing uncontrollably, experiencing pain, or unable to get any sleep can be a hazard to herself or her baby. She may not feel like caring for herself or her baby and may actually produce less milk due to the stress. The benefit of using cough medication approved for breastfeeding may reduce the time she is ill and help her return to optimal functioning. Many medications that would be used for an infant or young child can also be used by mom safely while she is breastfeeding.

Alternatives

In the event a mother needs to take a cough medication not approved for breastfeeding she may continue to feed her baby in various ways. She can pump her milk and dump it to keep up her supply while she takes the medication and feed her baby milk from a donor or formula with a cup feeder, dropper or bottle. After she is finished taking the medication she can resume breastfeeding.

Resources

Breastfeeding with a cough is possible and most mothers will not need to stop breastfeeding to relieve their cough or infection. Some health care professionals may not have the information available to prescribe a cough medication that is safe for breastfeeding. Lactation consultants, nurse midwives, breastfeeding peer counselors, other mothers, and organizations such as La Leche League International can be sources of information, support and guidance for a mother who needs to take medication. Hale publishes a book the public can purchase called Medications in Mother's Milk which contains multiple medications along with their risks, benefits, uses and lactation risk category.