[Breastfeeding and antiinfectious agents]

M T Hernádez1, J M Paricio, J Pemán

  • 1Centro de Salud Fuente de San Luis, C/ Arabista Ambrosio Huici 30, 46007 Valencia, Spain. hernandez.teragu@gmail.com

Not infrequently an infection or an antibiotic treatment needed by a lactating mother leads to medical advice against breastfeeding. However, advising against breastfeeding increases morbi-mortality risk in the infant. Besides there are few anti-infectious agents not compatible with breastfeeding, and in these cases, there is usually an alternative to treat the mother's illness. Thus it is important for health professionals to be informed of best sources where to look for the best treatment for the mother compatible with breastfeeding. This article offers the reader a review of basic pharmacodynamics which influence drug use in human lactation, an alphabetically ordered list of available anti-infectious agents coded by numbers indicating risk level, and some web recommendations for the interested reader. We hope to offer the interested reader a useful tool which may prevent some cases of physician led abandonment of lactation.

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