| When the mother is ill her milk makes antibodies for the specific germs she has come across. When the baby drinks the milk these antibodies protect him for the illness the mother has. Most times the baby doesn’t even get the illness and if he does it is in a much milder form.
I’ve looked up the medicine Imodium in Medications and Mothers’ Milk 2006, 12th Edition by Thomas Hale PhD (The book on the subject.) The active drug in Imodium is Loperamide. I couldn't find the medicine Gelusil - can you tell me what drug is in it?
LOPERAMIDE
Lactation Risk = L2 (SAFER)
Drug which has been studied in a limited number of breastfeeding women without an increase in adverse effects in the infant. And/or evidence of a demonstrated risk which is likely to follow use of this medication in a breastfeeding woman is remote.
Loperamide is an antidiarrheal drug. Because it is only minimally absorbed orally (0.3%), only extreme small amounts are secreted into breast milk. Following a 4 mg oral dose twice daily in 6 women (early postpartum), milk levels at 12 hours after the following dose averaged 0.18 g/L, and 6 hours after the second dose were 0.27 g/L. A breastfeeding infant consuming 165 mL/kg/day of milk would ingest 2000 times less than the recommended daily dose. It is very unlikely these reported levels in milk (Relative infant dose = 0.03%) would ever produce clinical effects in a breastfed infant.
Also remember that your baby is now five months old. We usually are most concerned about drugs in the very first days before the milk wall has closed when they have more effect. And after that for the next few weeks while the baby is still quite snmall.
Best wishes,
SARAH |