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Home › Articles › Breastfeeding › When Mommy's Sick

When Mommy's Sick

3 Steps to Easing Your Mind

By Lisa A. Goldstein

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When well-meaning doctors, nurses, pharmacists or dietitians don't know the answer to a question about medication safety during breastfeeding, Jacobi says, they will err on the side of the most conservative answer so as not to be wrong. The most commonly used reference is the most conservative drug information source, the Physicians' Desk Reference. "All medications now carry a disclaimer – written by the lawyers – to not take a drug if pregnant or nursing," Jacobi says. "This is the ultimate example of 'never be wrong.'"

According to Jacobi, drugs that are absolutely unsafe for breastfeeding include all street drugs (heroin, crack cocaine, PCP, etc.), certain drugs for cancer chemotherapy and lithium. She points to Dr. Hale's book for other, lesser-known drugs.

To deal with this, Jacobi says mothers have to learn to be proactive and ask about medication alternatives when confronted with a situation where she's told to quit breastfeeding. "The bottom line is [this]: Protecting the milk so the baby can continue to be breastfed is really that important," she says.

Medication and safety aside, what's a nursing mother to do when she's feeling lousy? "Get as much help at home as possible," Jacobi says. "And go to bed until she feels well."

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