On Tuesday 12 March 2002 21:14 pm, Patricia Keeling wrote:
> Hello all!
> I have been "lurking" for some time and have been soaking up all the
> information that is so freely given here!  I am an ECE.C (certified
> early childhood educator) by training  and a LLLL and will be writting
> the BIG exam this July that seems to get so much "press".  I have a
> question regarding medications that I would like an answer to if I
> may.....? According to Thomas Hale 2000, Flurbiprofen is a level 2
> risk for lactating mothers, but the information from the pharmacy
> states in bold letters..."THIS MEDICINE IS EXCRETED IN BREAST MILK.
> DO NOT BREAST-FEED while taking this medicine".... My question is how
> does one go about changing this misinformation.  A mother may
> unnecessarily wean a child if they solely go by this information.
> Some mothers don't question such "authority", or don't go looking for
> more information.  Just wondering?!
> Patricia
>
You know, I really don't know the answer to that question.... but
medications and nursing mothers is something I intend to stay as up to
date on as I can once I am prescribing as a nurse practitioner.  One
thought I do have is this, though.

If a mother who is highly committed to breastfeeding encounters
information such as that, she is very likely to ask a lot of questions
and to seek information from alternative sources that have up to date
information on medication and breastmilk.

There are mothers, OTOH, who are not as committed and only planned
shorter term nursing and, in some cases, are looking for an excuse to
wean.  And medication that is "incompatible" with breastfeeding [whether
it is TRULY incompatible or not] is a legitimate socially accepted
reason for early cessation of breastfeeding whereas stopping for other
reasons (such as "It was too much of a bother" or "I just didn't like
it") might be frowned upon.

Just a little food for thought.

--
Elisa H. Casey
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