Is Cefotaxime safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what NIH LactMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's authority on medicines and breastfeeding, reports about Cefotaxime. This is a summary of that source — not our own verdict.
Effects on the breastfed infant
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Effects on milk supply
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Levels in milk
Maternal Levels. Five postpartum women were given 2 grams of cefotaxime twice daily for 4 days. The average peak milk level on day 4 was 0.68 mg/L (range 0.29 to1.57 mg/L). By 12 hours after the dose the drug was undetectable in milk of all 5 women.[ 1 ] After a single 1 gram dose of cefotaxime to 12 women, average peak levels of 0.32 mg/L occurred 2 hours after the dose. The highest milk level recorded was 0.52 mg/L in one woman at 3 hours after the dose.[ 2 , 3 ] After a single 1 gram dose of cefotaxime to 5 women, the drug was not measurable ( 0.1 mg/L) in the mothers' milk at any time up to 6 hours after the dose.[ 4 ] After a single 1 gram intravenous dose in 2 women, cefotaxime milk levels were not measurable at any time up to 6 hours after the dose.[ 5 ] Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
“No published information” means the studies do not exist yet — not that Cefotaxime is known to be harmful, and not that it is known to be safe. Your prescriber or pharmacist can weigh your baby's age and whether a better-studied alternative would do the same job. Worth asking before stopping a medicine you need.
Source: NIH LactMed (National Library of Medicine).
Educational summary of an authoritative source — not medical advice. Never start, stop, or change a medicine while breastfeeding without confirming with your doctor.