Maternal Damnation

Don't believe the cult, necessarily.

I've been thinking lately about the combination of medications and breastmilk lately. I am of the mindset that "why would I subject my child to a medication through breastmilk that no one really knows the long-term effects, when there's formula that's been around for thirty plus years and the long term effects are fine?"

Then, of course, everyone brings up the Great God Almighty Thomas Hale, King of Breastmilk and Medication Cocktails. Y'know how many kids he based his findings on Paxil about? Eight. There are more kids in my son's day care class. Celexa? "Use with caution". Prozac? Only tested on children under two months. And let's not even talk about lithium and valium.

I really wonder about pro-breastfeeding websites, like Militant Breastfeeders' Cult. Are they so hyped up about getting women to breastfeed that they'll gloss over the possible negatives? Example: this quote from MBC:

"The following frequently used drugs are also generally safe during breastfeeding: .................tricyclic antidepressant medications, sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), other antidepressants."

But wait! (flip flip flip) Dr. Hale says that the long term effects of tricyclic antidepressants are unknown! And what if some mother thinks "oh, my valium will be fine for me to take, it's an 'other antidepressant'", Bingo, Bango, Bongo and Irving, the kid's screwed up!

Or here, under "myths of breastfeeding" : There are very very few medicines that a mother cannot take safely while breastfeeding. A very small amount of most medicines appears in the milk, but usually in such small quantities that there is no concern. If a medicine is truly of concern, there are usually equally effective, alternative medicines which are safe.

Um, you can spend months, if not years, trying to find the right antidepressant. "Usually" does not always equal "always".

LLL's stance seems to be "okay, the AAP says that antidepressants' effects on infants aren't known at this point and can be cause for concern. We'll listen and suggest options, but you have to make your own decision."

which I suppose I can deal with.

Posted by Whitney Whitney Whitney at February 19, 2003 11:56 PM