Community› The Bump Message Boards› Attachment Parenting
Attachment Parenting
New Discussion

NAPR: Antibiotics and Breastfeeding

NoeKNoeK member
in Attachment Parenting
I am feeling so disheartened right now and I am trying hard not to cry. I got a spider bite a few days ago on my arm. And I have been trying every holistic method I can think of, eating garlic, tumeric tinctures and various natural poultices but it only helped a little bit. So today I went to CityMed (my awesome PCP moved back to Brazil and I haven't picked a new one yet) and the doc there numbed and lanced it. She said the infection it pretty serious and put me on an antibiotic for a week. I am not looking forward to having to "pump and dump". So I actually have put off taking it another day so I can pump as much clean breastmilk as I can for LO. I'm not a new mom ( DS & DD are 11 and 8) but I have never been in this situation before. So my questions are these: Did you BF while on antibiotics? Did you take a probiotic supplement to lessen the damage, if so do you feel it worked? If you waited, how long after you finished the dosage did you BF again? Did you notice any changes in your LO? I will post this in the BF forum too. But since this is the only board I post on regularly, I figured I would try here first. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.
Report Reply to Post

Re: NAPR: Antibiotics and Breastfeeding

  • welly01welly01 member
    You can safely breastfeed while taking antibiotics...you DON'T have to pump and dump!!!  I have taken antibiotics at least three times the last year and am still successfully breastfeeding.  I'm sure the ladies on the breastfeeding board will know the website that you can look up if certain medications are safe but standard antibiotics are fine.  The only affect I've seen from antibiotics is a slight drop in supply.  Just keep nursing and pumping through the antibiotics and your supply will recover.
                                                                                              BFP #1 3/2/12, T born 11/7/12
                                                                                                 BFP #2  7/2/14, CP 7/6/14
                                 BFP #3 8/28/14, MMC 10/2/14 @ 9wks - misoprostol 10/6/14, D&C 11/3/14 for retained tissue
                                       BFP #4 12/25/14, EDD 9/7/15 - please stick baby, you are so loved and wanted!!!!!                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                   
                                            image  image                                                                      
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • Emerald27Emerald27 member
    edited September 2013
    Like PP said, you should not have to pump and dump while on antibiotics. Just to be safe, look up the medication you're taking here: 

    LactMed (NIH database for medications and breastfeeding):

    And you can also call the Infant Risk Center to discuss the medication you need to take with a medical professional: 

    Very few medications are not breastfeeding compatible. Best of luck! Let us know if your antibiotic is safe! :D
    imageimage
    image
    image
    Report Reply
  • NoeKNoeK member
    edited September 2013
    The medicine Bactrim has an L3 rating I believe. The doc said it was fine but the pharmacist said no way and the label on the bottle said do not take while Breastfeeding. The pharmacist recommended hat I get the doc to prescribe cephalexin (sp?) instead which has an L1 rating. So I guess that will be a better option so I can keep BF. Will update when I start meds.
    Report Reply
  • honkytonk_kidhonkytonk_kid member
    I would not necessarily take what a pharmacist says about BF compatibility unless they had something to back it up- Hales, Lactmed, etc. EVERY med says not to take while BF. My prenatal vitamins say consult your doctor before using.

    L3 doesn't always mean unsafe, most of the time it means untested.

    https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/f?./temp/~I0xGUg:1
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker


    BabyFruit Ticker
    Report Reply
  • mb314mb314 member
    I recently had a spider bite that got infected.  My doctor prescribed amoxicillin (sp?) because it was safe to take while breastfeeding.  it is a weaker antibiotic, but it did clear up my infection.  I didn't stop breastfeeding, and I didn't take a probiotic.  I did try to eat a yougurt every day. 
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
       
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

     

    Report Reply
  • NoeKNoeK member
    Ok so the dr said the cephalexin should be okay so I started that. I'm also eating kefir yogurt like crazy so I will keep BF and see how it goes. Thank you guys so much for the advice I was wrecking myself with worry
    Report Reply
  • MeganequineMeganequine member

    Just be sure your doctor and pharmacist know that you are BFing and they should be able to help you work it out.   I took an antibiotic while BFing and it was fine.

    However, I would disagree with a previous post about taking the word of your doctor over the pharmacist.  You need to combine their expertise (especially if you don't know either well.)  I have a friend who's a pharmacist and there are some drugs she knows more about than certain doctors because that's what she works with everyday and what all her training is in.  (Good pharmacist will also help catch drugs prescribed at too high a dose, drug interactions, allergy issues etc.)

    BabyFruit Ticker


    image

    Report Reply
  • nosoup4unosoup4u member
    Didn't a study just come out about how you can take all sorts of heavy-duty drugs while breastfeeding? Hope you arm feels better, and glad you are on abx!
    DS1 - Feb 2008

    DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)

    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"