Breast Feeding on AEDs

[BrandiS]

Hi, I'm not new to CWE, but it has been some time since I have been on here.
I have a question, I am 37 weeks pregnant, and have been taking AEDs (Lamictal and Topamax) most of my pregnancy (minus the first trimester), baby is 100% healthy.

I am wondering if anyone knows the safety of breast feeding on these drugs. My neuro and OB don't seem to know one way or the other. I feel like breast feeding will be a no-go, but does anyone know if there is any potential harm in breast feeding on Lamictal and/or Topamax? -Or how it differs from taking it while pregnant?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Cint]

When I was pregnant years ago, I was taking Dilantin and at that time I was told I should not breast feed, but I think it is different with Lamictal/Topamax.

Here is more info on the subject:

http://www.epilepsy.com/info/women_pregnancy_breastfeeding
http://www.aafp.org/afp/2001/0701/p119.html

 

[BrandiS]

Thank you for those resources. I've been doing some online research over the last couple of days and from what I can gather neither Topamax nor Lamictal are problematic drugs. I'll continue to do some research.

 

[Nakamova]

You should also check in with your neuro and OB/GYN -- after all, it's their job to provide some guidance about this stuff. And congrats on the baby!

 

[BrandiS]

Yep, checked with both, neither are really sure. I'm going to talk to the pediatrcian to see if they can tell me anything. Thank you!

 

[kaelieh]

I feel like I get mixed messages when I read about breastfeeding while on AEDs. I've always wanted to breastfeed, I think it's incredibly beautiful.

In the past it was definitely discouraged, but there does seem to be some movement away from that in some of the newer literature I've read. There are some valid points, the baby is likely to be exposed to less medication then there were in utero (depending on the medication of course, I think one of older one's shows up heavily in breast milk).

I saw on article that said there are so many other benefits from breastfeeding that continued exposure to a small amount of AEDs that they have already been exposed are unlikely to cause harm, moreover the most harmful effects like congenital malformations are unlikely with the newer generations of drugs and aren't an issue during breastfeeding.


The article I read on medscape said breastfeeding can be a viable option for women being treated with AEDs though.



After I read that article, I feel a lot better about the idea, because it seems like norms are changing.