I have looked all this up in Hale for a mom who has a very uncomfortable Hive
type rash at 6 weeks post partum.  she tried topical steroids with no luck
went to Doctor and received a steroid shot ( I assume Decadron)  and now has
been placed on oral prednisone and Zyrtec for a 15 day course.  Mom is angry
because the first Doctor did not tell her that the Steroids would "Dry up her
Milk"  she began the prednisone and had a fussy baby day.  baby irrritable
and cranky all day and mom is describing symptoms that to her mean less milk
production.  Ex:  Breasts not as full, baby acting hungry etc.   So.....  I
can't find anything in the literature that backs up the claim she got from
her pediatricians office that Prednisone will cause a decrease in milk
supply.  I of course think the zyrtec could temporarily impact volume, but
with frequnet nursing and increased fluid intake can be overcome.  Basically
what has happened here is this mom needs to take the medication so she can
obtain relief but has been told by her physician that there is not anything
that they can give her that won't "DRY UP HER MILK".   So the message here is
SCRATCH or WEAN because you won't be able to keep up anyway.   Does
Prednisone decrease milk supply?  How can I best help this mother get through
the 15 days of therapy and convince her that a temporary decrease in her
supply could be related to 6 week growth spurt, stress, and the many other
factors that I know it could be.  Dr. Neifert said it right last week at our
conference when she said Healthcare professionals have got to realize how
powerfull our words are.  I can't stand the phrase "It will DRY UP YOUR
MILK!"  any and all help is appreciated as usual.

Jessica Donahue RN IBCLC

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