Is Cefotetan safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what NIH LactMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's authority on medicines and breastfeeding, reports about Cefotetan. 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. After a single 1 gram dose of cefotetan to 7 women, the drug was not detected ( 0.195 mg/L) in milk in 2 women at any time up to 6 hours after the dose. In the remaining 5 women, average milk levels ranged from 0.22 to 0.34 mg/L from 1 to 6 hours after the dose. The average peak level was 0.34 mg/L 4 hours after the dose, although individual peak levels ranged from 0.25 to 0.5 mg/L at 3 to 4 hours after the dose.[ 1 ] Five women were given 1 gram of cefotetan every 12 hours intramuscularly for 2 days. Milk cefotetan levels were undetectable 1 hour after the first dose. From 4 to 10 hours, milk levels ranged from 0.3 to 0.59 mg/L, with the peak occurring 7 hours after the dose. Ten hours after the second, third and fifth doses, milk levels ranged from 0.29 to 0.37 mg/L.[ 2 ] After a single 1 gram dose of cefotetan in 2 women, average cefotetan concentrations of 0.1 and 0.2 mg/L occurred at 2 and 4 hours after the dose, respectively. It was undetectable at 1 and 6 hours after the dose.[ 3 ] Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Alternatives LactMed lists
“No published information” means the studies do not exist yet — not that Cefotetan 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.