Is Citalopram safe while breastfeeding?

Effects on the breastfed infant

The manufacturer states that drowsiness and weight loss in breastfed infants has occurred. Uneasy sleep that reversed with dosage reduction and partial formula supplementation was probably caused by citalopram in breastmilk in a 5-month-old infant.[ 7 ] A group of 10 infants breastfed (6 exclusive, 3 received some formula beginning at 2 months) from birth to one year during maternal citalopram use had normal body weight and neurological development in all infants compared to 9 control infants whose mothers did not take citalopram.[ 8 ] Three mothers who took an average citalopram dose of 15 mg once daily breastfed their infants exclusively for 4 months and at least 50% during months 5 and 6. Their infants had 6-month weight gains that were normal according to national growth standards.[ 14 ] A study compared adverse reactions in 31 infants breastfed during maternal citalopram use to a control group of 31 breastfed infants whose mothers did not take an antidepressant. There were numerically more adverse events reported in the citalopram group (3 vs 1). However, the study found no statistical difference in the rate of adverse effects between the groups of infants and none of the side effects was serious. One mother reported infant irritability and restlessness after she began citalopram at 2 months postpartum. The side effects subsided after she stopped breastfeeding 2 weeks later.[ 15 ] In 10 breastfed (extent not stated) infants aged 3 to 42 weeks whose mothers were taking citalopram an average of 24 mg daily, no short-term adverse reactions were noted clinically at the time of the study.[ 9 ] A breastfed infant whose mother took citalopram 40 mg daily throughout pregnancy and postpartum had numerous symptoms such as superficial and irregular breathing, apnea, disordered sleep and hypotonia after birth. All symptoms disappeared by 3 weeks of age. Symptoms were judged to likely be withdrawal symptoms rather than side effects of the drug in the breastmilk.[ 1 ] A woma

Effects on milk supply

The SSRI class of drugs, including citalopram, can cause increased prolactin levels and galactorrhea in nonpregnant, nonnursing patients.[ 25 - 29 ] In a study of cases of hyperprolactinemia and its symptoms (e.g., gynecomastia) reported to a French pharmacovigilance center, fluvoxamine was found to have a 3.9-fold increased risk of causing hyperprolactinemia compared to other drugs.[ 30 ] The prolactin level in a mother with established lactation may not affect her ability to breastfeed. In a small prospective study, 8 primiparous women who were taking a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI; 3 taking fluoxetine and 1 each taking citalopram, duloxetine, escitalopram, paroxetine or sertraline) were compared to 423 mothers who were not taking an SRI. Mothers taking an SRI had an onset of milk secretory activation (lactogenesis II) that was delayed by an average of 16.7 hours compared to controls (85.8 hours postpartum in the SRI-treated mothers and 69.1 h in the untreated mothers), which doubled the risk of delayed feeding behavior in the untreated group. However, the delay in lactogenesis II may not be clinically important, since there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in the percentage of mothers experiencing feeding difficulties after day 4 postpartum.[ 31 ] A case control study compared the rate of predominant breastfeeding at 2 weeks postpartum in mothers who took an SSRI antidepressant throughout pregnancy and at delivery (n = 167) or an SSRI during pregnancy only (n = 117) to a control group of mothers who took no antidepressants (n = 182). Among the two groups who had taken an SSRI, 33 took citalopram, 18 took escitalopram, 63 took fluoxetine, 2 took fluvoxamine, 78 took paroxetine, and 87 took sertraline. Among the women who took an SSRI, the breastfeeding rate at 2 weeks postpartum was 27% to 33% lower than mother who did not take antidepressants, with no statistical difference in breastfeeding rates between the SSRI-exposed groups.

Levels in milk

Citalopram is metabolized to 2 metabolites, each having antidepressant activity considered to be 13% that of citalopram.[ 6 ] Maternal Levels. In a pooled analysis of serum levels from published studies and 2 unpublished cases, the authors found that 18 mothers taking an average daily dosage of 29 mg (range 20 to 60 mg) had an average milk citalopram level of 157 mcg/L (range 41 to 451 mcg/L).[ 6 ] Using the average dosage and milk level data from this paper, an exclusively breastfed infant would receive an estimated 7.9% of the maternal weight-adjusted dosage of citalopram. A woman with postpartum depression was given citalopram 20 mg daily for 2 days, then 40 mg daily. After 8 days of therapy, a breastmilk sample contained 98.9 mcg/L of citalopram.[ 7 ] In 9 mothers taking citalopram 20 to 40 mg daily while breastfeeding, trough milk samples were taken immediately before nursing on the morning of day 4, and during week 2 and month 2 postpartum. Citalopram milk trough concentrations standardized to a dosage of 20 mg daily averaged 81.4, 103.4 and 75.9 mcg/L at the 3 sampling times. The authors reported that an exclusively breastfed infant would receive an estimated minimum of 0.3 and 0.2% of the maternal weight-adjusted dosage of citalopram at 2 weeks and 2 months postpartum, respectively.[ 8 ] However, these values appear to be the result of a calculation error. Using the milk concentration values above, one can calculate a minimum infant dosage of 4.7 and 3.4% of the weight-adjusted maternal dosage which is consistent with values reported in other studies. In 10 breastfed (extent not stated) infants (including one pair of twins) aged 3 to 42 weeks whose mothers were taking an average daily dosage of 24 mg (range 20 to 50 mg) of citalopram, the authors calculated that their fully breastfed infants would receive an average of 5.2% (range 2.5 to 9.4%) of the maternal dosage.[ 9 ] A mother was taking oral citalopram 40 mg once daily in the evening. Single milk sample

Alternatives LactMed lists

• Nortriptyline
• Paroxetine
• Sertraline