Question: I was prescribed Altacef-250 due to blocked duct on my breast and was informed that it is safe for breastfeeding. However, i found few articles online saying that this antibiotic is not safe for breastfeeding. Can i continue to breastfeed after taking the medicine? i wish to stop taking it as my blocked duct has gone. (Shibi)
Answer: Cefuroxime is safe to be used for breastfeeding moms. What are the articles and is the conclusion well defined ? There are only very few medications that are truly unsafe and totally unacceptable to be used during breastfeeding. If you are concerned, you can opt to discard the milk that is produced for the next 3-4 hours after taking the medicine. Of course, you should also question if you should take the medicine, to see if it is really indicated. While Cefuroxime taken in the right dose should not cause significant harm, one should not take medicine unncessarily. As cefuroxime is an antibiotic, it should be used for treating an infection. I am not sure of its use for blocked duct unless there is element of infection.
as i know cefuroxime is contraindicated in breast feeding mother and is excreted in human milk so i am very doubt it is SAFE in breastfeeding mother.
Please refer to this article : http://www.drugs.com/breastfeeding/cefuroxime.html
I am not making this up without referring to research and academic materials.
However, if you are in doubt, then do not use.
Of course, the best is to avoid any medication at all, but this is not an ABSOLUTE CONTRAINDICATION, as it would be the case with cytotoxic drugs.
Some newborn babies with infection are also treated with cefuroxime (though not common). Please feel free to ask for second opinion from pharmacologist, physicians.
Using drugs during breastfeeding is a tricky issue, and many would doubt even reassured by doctors. You have to weigh between the risk to the baby, the risk of denying yourself from proper treatment.
Please also refer to this abstract :- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16044108
I quote: “However, there were no significant differences between rates of specific events. The rate of adverse effects in the cefuroxime group (2.6%) was not significantly different from that in controls (9%) (P = 0.58, OR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.94-1.06). All adverse effects were minor, self-limiting, and did not necessitate interruption of breast-feeding. Our data suggest that amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and cefuroxime may be safe during lactation. Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.”