Is Ticarcillin safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what NIH LactMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's authority on medicines and breastfeeding, reports about Ticarcillin. 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. Only trace levels of ticarcillin were detected for 6 hours after single 1 gram intramuscular doses in 3 women in one study,[ 1 , 2 ] and 5 women in another early study.[ 3 ] After ticarcillin doses of 5 grams intravenously three times a day in 10 women, milk levels averaged 2 to 2.5 mg/L. By 12 hours after the last dose, ticarcillin was undetectable in the milk. The total daily intake of a breastfed infant would be negligible.[ 4 ] 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 Ticarcillin 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.