Prescribed Atarax While Pregnant, Can I Take This While Bfing?

just a tip- you can call any and every pharmacy (not just the one that you use) to see what they say. SO... if you aren't getting calls back, try another pharmacy. ALSO, a lot of drugs haven't been tested to see if it is okay to breastfeed along with it... so you may get a lot of "I don't know"'s.

I get/got anxiety BAD sometimes, but I chose to just wait til after I was done breastfeeding while trying to find other ways to cope. Yoga is my #1 recommendation for that if you are interested.

If you ask the average physician (pedi and pharmacy included) about drugs and breastfeeding, remember that they will just tell you what the drug company tells them. They will simply reiterate what the drug says and ALL DRUGS (including Tylenol) will cover their butts and say "ask your doctor about breastfeeding" or "do not breastfeed on this drug." Sooo:

Go to the pros: The best, most respected source of medication and lactation comes from the University of Texas and a Dr. Thomas Hale, Ph.D

He studies how medications pass through a mother's milk. You can always read his forum here (login as guest): http://neonatal.ttuhsc.edu/lact/medicationforumspage.html

I have his most recent book (13th ed of Medications and Mother's Milk). I looked up Atarax for you: It is listed as an L1 (safest possible for breastfeeding - yay!). Here are the details:

No reports of any pediatric concerns. It has a half life of 3 to 7 hours (excellent - shorter the better) and reaches it's peak concentration in your blood plasma at 2 hrs after you take the drug. The drug is listed as extremely safe, but if you want to really feel good about it, simply avoid nursing around that 2 hr peak (so if you take a pill at 2pm, your peak concentration in your blood would be at 4pm. Nurse happily until about 3:30 and then wait till 4:30 to nurse again).

EDIT:
I should add that Hale's books, unlike many others, look at numerous factors: protein binding capacity of the drug, molecular weight, half lives, plasma infusion rations, etc. These are all things that pharmacies and drug companies do not look at. A drug with a high molecular weight and a high protein binding capacity has an extremely difficult time passing through breastmilk (i.e. through the the mammary epithelium).

Here is a great explanation of these terms and how they apply to the nursing mom: http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/bf/lactationrisk.asp

Sorry if this is an over-abundance of info!

Peace-Love-Boobies
K. (I run the 80 member Cape Cod Breastfeeding Moms Group - join us on FACEBOOK!)

If you absolutely cannot call your doc, call the pharmacy.
Good luck!

Hello!

I never had any antidepressant to take while pregnant or breastfeeding, but I have a immune system problem that makes me go into hives, specially if I am stressed... I know your feeling!!!
Here is where I suggest you have a look:
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2002/55732.pdf
http://www.safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/viewFile/3...
and there is a book you should get, it has at the end a fairly comprehensive list of drugs, their side effects (sometimes it is about keeping the milk supply, not about the baby)... The name is The Nursing Mother's Companion.

Good luck!
Isa

before you take this medication, check out the companies website for it
first. because there are virtually no long term studies done on medications
taken by pregnant and or nursing women. the vast majority of medical
studies are done using young men, not women and certainly not pregnant
or nursing women. try something herbal instead.. st johns wort, chamomile,
or peppermint tea
K. h.
just a note, i took no allergy medication, not even a tylenol while i was pregnant, and while we delivered two months early, she is very healthy

The best person to answer that question is your pediatrician - ours was very particular about certain prescriptions while nursing both children.

I just looked-up the prescribing information registered with the FDA. It says that it is not known if the product is excreted in breast milk. Basically, it hasn't been studied in nursing mothers, so there is no data to confirm if it is safe or not (at least no data from the product's manufacturer).
http://www.drugs.com/pro/atarax.html

I'd honestly advise against it - the benefit does not appear to outweigh the risk. I've sold prescription medications for the last decade, and the two things you never want to advise are the use during pregnancy/lactation and in children if the data is not there to support it.

Good luck.

I work in a pharmacy and the pocket reference that I have here at home says it's not considered safe for breastfeeding. Kellymom.com has a list of medications considered safe for breastfeeding, however Atarax isn't listed. I would check with the pediatrician or try calling your local hospital and ask to speak with their lactation consultant.

google "lact med" its a website that even my dr used to check prescriptions before prescribing things to me - it tells you if things and been tested and if they are safe to take