There are many situations which can be treated with ibuprofen, as it is non-steroidal as well as the anti-inflammatory drug. This tablet can lessen a wide variety of pains, starting from headaches to the symptoms of arthritis, but what if we are breastfeeding our baby?
These medications can be passed into the breast milk. Therefore, here at Tryarticles, we’ll tell you whether can you take ibuprofen while breastfeeding a newborn or not and if you can’t take it then with whom it should replace with.
Can I Take Ibuprofen If I’m Breastfeeding?
If you are breastfeeding a baby and you doubt if it is feasible to use ibuprofen, you should know that it is not recommended. Even though ibuprofen has never been found to cause any bad events in breastfeeding infants when ingested by the mother.
It’s better to be protected than to regret later. You can take ibuprofen while breastfeeding once or twice in order to ease the pain. Ibuprofen instruction leaflet.
Studies Have Shown No Side Effects
Moreover, conditions during pregnancy or breastfeeding are not same. During breastfeeding a medication has to cross many barriers before becoming the part of mother’s milk and medicines like ibuprofen cannot cross those barriers much efficiently. According to Drugs.com, ibuprofen has been the issue under discussion and experimentation of several studies in regards to its safety for breastfeeding moms.
Two separate studies were conducted, one in which women were dosed with 400mg of ibuprofen two times in a day, and another in which they were dosed with the same amount of 400mg but in every six hours. Samples were taken of the breast milk and guess what the results are? There is no trace of medicine in it.
In a more sensitive study, breastfeeding mothers were given 6 doses (each containing 400mg) of ibuprofen over a period of 42.6 hours. Samples were taken of their breast milk at various points in the study. It was shown that, at its peak, there was only about 68mcg of ibuprofen found in the breast milk — the equivalent of about 0.2% of a regular pediatric dose of this drug.
Warnings About Ibuprofen While Breastfeeding
Unfortunately, ibuprofen is not for everyone. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has warned that women who have asthma or a history of stomach ulcers should not take ibuprofen, as it can make these conditions even worse.
Also, it recommends that women who have had a premature baby or a baby with low birth weight should take advice from their doctors to make sure that ibuprofen while breastfeeding is appropriate for them.
What Can I Take To Substitute Ibuprofen While Breastfeeding?
Thus, women who are in any type of pains or state of affairs should consult their doctor about what is the best alternative for ibuprofen in order to treat their problem safely.
The answer will depend on what kind of pain you’re suffering from, but note that paracetamol can substitute ibuprofen in many cases, as this drug does not affect the mother and baby until the recommended dose does not exceed.
