Hi all,
        I have just came back from vacation and being No Mail and I am catching
up on posts.
        Before vacation I also had a question about St. John's Wort. I have the
book Hypericum and Depression by H. Bloomfield, M.D., Mikael Nordfors, M.D.
and Peter McWilliams
Prelude Press, 1996. I had e-mailed the authors asking if they had any
further info on Hypericum (St. John's Wort) and breastfeeding since the
book had been published.
        I received a long e-mail from Peter McWilliams. He prefaced  his comments
by saying that these were his opinions and not necessarily the views of the
doctors that co-wrote the book. These are his comments on taking Hypericum
while pregnant and nursing:

        HYPERICUM DURING PREGNANCY AND NURSING

I now tread into even more dangerous waters: giving advice about the lives
and health of those about to be born. There have been many letters from
mothers asking if hypericum was safe during pregnancy; others ask if
lactating mothers can take it.

My answer (deep breath; here goes): In general, a mother suffering from
depression is going to pump more harmful chemicals into her child--born or
unborn--than any danger hypericum might cause. Women tend to become
depressed during and after pregnancy more often than at other times. It
would be a shame not to use one of the least toxic and most helpful herbs
known. And since what the mother feels the unborn child feels, why
shouldn't the mother feel as good as possible all the time-for the baby's
sake? I see hypericum as a welcoming gift from the plant kingdom to the new
arrival of the animal kingdom.

There are not yet medical studies to back up this claim, but please keep in
mind that for years now hundreds of thousands of German women have given
birth to healthy babies while taking hypericum. If there were going to be
problems, I believe they would have surfaced by now. (Thalidomide was
tracked down and removed from the market in less than two years.)

Also consider that five separate studies have cleared even Prozac of being
harmful to the fetus or nursing infant. I say "even" Prozac not to imply
Prozac is a dangerous drug--it is one of the safest of all prescription
medications--but its side effects are far more frequent and severe than
hypericum's.

If the mother has negative side effects to due to hypericum, then it would
be wise to find another antidepressant. But do find one. And again, this is
just me talking, not the doctors. (I was, however, a fetus myself once -or
so my mother claims. I have my doubts. I think she does, too.)

Of course, consult your physician. If they are unfamiliar with the medical
studies hypericum on adults, please ask them to read the medical studies in
"Hypericum & Depression" (starting at http://www.hypericum.com/hyp20.htm
especially the studies on toxicity. Your physician will probably find
hypericum to be as safe for you and your growing child as any number of
other vitamin or herbal supplements you are currently take for your health
and the health of your soon-to-be baby.

        I hope that this info helps. As always I am so amazed by all the support
and knowledge on this list. I am so proud to be part of it.

Jodi Smart RN, IBCLC
Port St. Lucie, FL.