Is Cefoxitin safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what NIH LactMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's authority on medicines and breastfeeding, reports about Cefoxitin. 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 1 gram dose of cefoxitin in one woman, the cefoxitin level in milk 2 hours after the dose was 5.6 mg/L.[ 2 , 3 ] Four postpartum women received 1 gram of cefoxitin three times a day. Only 8 of 50 breastmilk samples had measurable cefoxitin levels of 0.8 to 1 mg/L. Other samples had unmeasurable ( 0.8 mg/L) cefoxitin levels.[ 4 ] Fifteen nursing others received a single intramuscular dose of cefoxitin 1 gram. Cefoxitin was not detected ( 0.5 mg/L) in any milk samples taken up to 24 hours after the dose.[ 5 ] After a single 2 gram intramuscular dose of cefoxitin in 5 women, peak milk levels of 0.31 to 0.65 mg/L occurred 1 to 5 hours after the dose.[ 6 ] Cefoxitin was not measurable in breastmilk at any time up to 6 hours after a single 1 gram intravenous dose of cefoxitin in 2 women.[ 7 ] Eighteen women undergoing cesarean section were given either a single 2 gram dose of cefoxitin or 2 g followed by two 1 gram doses (route unspecified). Cefoxitin was detected (detection limit 0.5 mg/L) in the milk of only one woman at a concentration of 0.9 mg/L 19 hours after the third dose of cefoxitin.[ 8 ] Fifteen women were given a single 1 gram dose of cefoxitin intravenously at about 1 month after delivery. The average milk level 2 hours after the dose was 0.05 mg/L.[[ 9 ] Five women were who had been receiving intravenous cefoxitin 1 gram twice daily for 2 days following cesarean section each donated a milk sample. The highest milk concentration was 1.71 mg/L at 1 hour after the dose in one woman. Drug concentrations in samples taken at 1.5 or 2 hours after the dose in 3 women ranged from 0.71 to 0.94 mg/L. A fifth woman who donated a milk sample at 2.5 hours after the dose had a milk cefoxitin concentration of 0.57 mg/L.[ 10 ] 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 Cefoxitin 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.