Is Upadacitinib safe while breastfeeding?

Here is what NIH LactMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's authority on medicines and breastfeeding, reports about Upadacitinib. 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. Forty breastmilk samples were obtained from 4 women taking either 30 mg (n = 2) or 45 mg (n = 2) daily of upadacitinib. Three of the women had a sufficient number of samples over a 24-hour period to calculate the RID on that day, with 2 of them having a sufficient number on two separate days. The daily RID values were 6.5% and 9.6% in patient 1, 5.7% in patient 2, and 3.8% and 6.1% in patient 3. Individual single-point RIDs of patient 4 fell within the range of the other patients. When all 40 single-point RID values from the 4 women were considered, the median RID was 2.66% (IQR 0.75% to 10.58%). The daily infant dosages were calculated to range from 3.8 to 59.7 mcg/kg. It is unclear why there was such a large range of milk levels, RID values, and infant dosages.[ 4 ] 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 Upadacitinib 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.