Breastfeeding Questions

Hi there nix

Congrats on your pregnancy.

You will definitely need to speak to your gynie about the safety. He/she should have a medical book to check the safety of all meds.

This is what I can tell you about Lexamil,

Escitalopram (that is the active ingredient). Limited information indicates that maternal doses of escitalopram up to 20 mg daily produce low levels in milk and would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants, especially if the infant is older than 2 months. Based on limited data, escitalopram appears to be preferable to racemic citalopram during breastfeeding because of the lower dosage and milk levels and general lack of adverse reactions in breastfed infants. One case of necrotizing enterocolitis was reported in an breastfed newborn whose mother was taking escitalopram during pregnancy and lactation, but causality was not established. Monitor the infant for drowsiness, especially in younger, exclusively breastfed infants and when using combinations of psychotropic drugs. Mothers taking an SSRI during pregnancy and postpartum may have more difficulty breastfeeding and may need additional breastfeeding support. Breastfed infants exposed to an SSRI during the third trimester of pregnancy have a lower risk of poor neonatal adaptation than formula-fed infants.

Eight women taking escitalopram in an average dosage of 199 mcg/kg daily (10 to 20 mg daily) had 6 to 8 milk steady-state milk samples analyzed over the 24-hour interval after their single daily dose. The average dosage that an exclusively breastfed infant would receive was calculated to be 7.6 mcg/kg of escitalopram and 3 mcg/kg of desmethylcitalopram daily which were 3.9% and 1.7% of the maternal weight-adjusted dosages, respectively. The absolute dosage was about 40% less than a previous study by the same authors with racemic citalopram.

I hope this helps a bit!

Hi, I have a question about breast feeding while taking an antidepressant. I am currently 10 weeks pg and am staying on my meds throughout. I take them for an anxiety disorder and will not cope off them - I have tried but it was awful. I take 20mg of Lexamil (generic of Cipralex ).

Has anyone exclusively bf while taking this kind of medication? Was it a problem for baby or not?

I have done a bit of googling on the topic but can't find a satisfactory answer. I will also ask my gynie tomorrow.

Any info/advice would be appreciated!

Hi Blessedmom!!

Hope you don't mind me referring you to this post?

www.moomie.co.za/6-feeding-and-nutrition...ilk-not-filling-help

Thank you!!

This made me smile yellga & blessedmom!

Firstly, because I had the same concern with my oldest LG.

And secondly, because blessedmom is so right, phew when those dirty nappies come they can be explosive and all over the place. Most times for us it means a change of clothes as well Just hope it does not happen in the bath, which seems to be the favorite place for my youngest. She waits until bathtime, relax in the warm water and then lets rip Which means we have to take her out, clean the bath and bath her again

I find it so funny that as a mom, having a conversation about poo is the most normal thing in the world!

Hi yellga

Congrats on the birth of your daughter. Glad the breastfeeding is going well.

Bf babies can't get constipated, unless they obviously start with solids etc. They also don't need anything else except bm for the first 6 months, not even water cause your foremilk contains the watery part How awesome is that!

Bf babies can go up to 10 days without a dirty nappy so don't be concerned. Just be prepared for an explosive diaper coming your way

My baby is EBF and is 2 weeks old. She has a great appetite and spoils me with a ridiculous number of wet nappies. She however hasn't produced a dirty nappy since Friday night. Should I be concerned? There's been no loss in appetite or change in her mood. Her tummy's not hard and she isn't straining. I do bicycling motions with her legs and she gets massages daily with bath time.

Dr Willie Bolus 021 683 0478

61 Belvedere Road, Claremont