[Early and late inhibition of lactation using bromocriptine. A comparative study (author's transl)]

After having reviewed our present knowledge of the pharmacology of bromocriptine, its action on the pituitary, centrally and peripherally, the authors detail the results they have obtained in inhibiting lactation in two groups of patients who had delivered normally or had Caesarean sections. In the first group where bromocriptine was started in the first 24 hours with dosages of 2.5 mg every 12 hours for 14 days, clinical signs of breast engorgement and of milk secretion were insignificant and the level of prolactin had dropped to normal menstrual cycle levels from the third day after delivery. In the second group where the first dose of bromocriptine was given at least 48 hours after Caesarean section, the levels of prolactin dropped just as sharply from the third day after delivery, but on the other hand the clinical signs of breast engorgement and milk secretion were marked and completely comparable to those which are found in patients who are not going to breast feed but who have received no treatment to inhibit lactation.