Tweet
I take 20mg of Celexa twice a week (Tues&thurs). I have been taking it the entire time during my pregnancy so I'm assuming it would be safe to continue to take while breastfeeding. Is this dosage safe while breastfeeding?
-
-
Jflowers,
Celexa is given a rating of L2-safer. The infant will only receive 3.56-5.37% of your dose. While the original anecdotal data suggested that symptoms such as somnolence, colic and restlessness may occur in breastfed infants exposed to celexa, the majority of new data suggests these symptoms are minimal and may not be associated with the drug therapy. The infant is usually exposed to more in utero than through the breast milk. A normal dose is 20-40mg a day. Monitor the infant for sedation or irritability, not waking to feed/poor feeding and weight gain. I hope this helps, if you have any other questions please call the InfantRisk Center at 806-352-2519. Thanks,
Sandra Lovato R.N.
InfantRisk Center -
A few studies have looked at the use of antidepressants during breastfeeding. These studies compared the level of antidepressant in the mother's blood to the level in the baby's blood. Some studies have shown that nursing infants may have higher levels of Celexa in their blood, compared to certain other SSRIs, such as ZoloftComment
Comment