Is Moxidectin safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what NIH LactMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's authority on medicines and breastfeeding, reports about Moxidectin. 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. Twelve lactating women who averaged 29.6 weeks (range 21 to 100 weeks) postpartum and had weaned their infants were given moxidectin 8 mg orally as a single dose. A breast pump was used to collect milk samples for at least 30 days, and in some, at various times for up to 90 days after the dose. The total amount of drug excreted into breastmilk averaged 0.056 mg over the study period, which was 8.7% (SD 3.2%) of the weight-adjusted maternal dose. The amount of moxidectin excreted into breastmilk tended to be higher in some women with lower maternal body weight.[ 1 ] A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model using data from this study was developed and compared to results of animal exposure studies. It concluded that even with no interruption of breastfeeding after a dose, the dose that an exclusively breastfed infant would receive would be well below the no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) in animal studies. Withholding breastfeeding for 24 hours would result in about a 40% decrease in infant exposure.[ 2 ] 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 Moxidectin 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.