Is Quazepam safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what NIH LactMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's authority on medicines and breastfeeding, reports about Quazepam. 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
Quazepam has a half-life of about 41 hours and is extensively metabolized to 2-oxoquazepam, which is in turn metabolized to desalkylflurazepam having a half-life of 47 to 100 hours. Maternal Levels. Four women received a single dose of quazepam 15 mg orally. Milk was collected at intervals up to 48 hours after the dose. Quazepam reached a maximum milk level averaging 95.8 mcg/L (range 26 to 216 mcg/L) at 3 hours (range 2 to 4 hours) after the dose. The 2-oxoquazepam metabolite reached a maximum milk level averaging 26.1 mcg/L at 3 hours (range 2 to 4 hours) after the dose. Desalkylflurazepam reached a maximum milk level averaging 2 mcg/L at 7 hours (range 4 to 12 hours) after the dose. Over the 48 hours after the dose, about 0.11% of the mother's total dose was excreted into breastmilk. The authors estimated that this amounts to 2.3% of the maternal weight-adjusted dosage. Because of accumulation with repeated administration, an exclusively breastfed infant would receive 0.19% of the mother's absolute dose or about 4% of the maternal weight-adjusted dosage.[ 1 ] 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 Quazepam 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.