Is Scopolamine safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what NIH LactMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's authority on medicines and breastfeeding, reports about Scopolamine. 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
Anticholinergics can inhibit lactation in animals, apparently by inhibiting growth hormone and oxytocin secretion.[ 1 - 5 ] Anticholinergic drugs can also reduce serum prolactin in nonnursing women.[ 6 ] The prolactin level in a mother with established lactation may not affect her ability to breastfeed. A retrospective case-control study conducted in two hospitals in central Iran compared breastfeeding behaviors in the first 2 hours postdelivery by infants of 4 groups of primiparous women with healthy, full-term singleton births who had vaginal deliveries. The groups were those who received no medications during labor, those who received oxytocin plus scopolamine, those who received oxytocin plus meperidine, and those who received oxytocin, scopolamine and meperidine. The infants in the no medication group performed better than those in all other groups, and the oxytocin plus scopolamine group performed better than the groups that had received meperidine.[ 7 ]
Levels in milk
Maternal Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date. Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
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.