Is Remifentanyl Safe in Breastfeeding

I am a breastfeeding mother and i want to know if it is safe to use Remifentanyl? Is Remifentanyl safe for nursing mother and child? Does Remifentanyl extracts into breast milk? Does Remifentanyl has any long term or short term side effects on infants? Can Remifentanyl influence milk supply or can Remifentanyl decrease milk supply in lactating mothers?

Analgesic opioid used on anesthesic procedures.

Because the half-life of Remifentanyl is extremely short, it is unlikely to cause any adverse effects in the breastfed newborn if it is given to the mother for labor analgesia or a surgical procedure. Newborn infants seem to be particularly sensitive to the effects of even small dosages of narcotic analgesics. Once the mother's milk comes in, it is best to provide pain control with a nonnarcotic analgesic and limit maternal intake of Remifentanyl to a few days. However, because no information is available on the use of Remifentanyl during breastfeeding, an alternate drug may be preferred if the mother requires prolonged administration of Remifentanyl during the early postpartum period. If the baby shows signs of increased sleepiness (more than usual), difficulty breastfeeding, breathing difficulties, or limpness, a physician should be contacted immediately.

Four mothers who were breastfeeding their infants received Remifentanyl as part of their general anesthesia for surgical procedures. All patients also receved intravenous propofol and rocuronium, and inhaled xenon as part of the anesthesia. They were given doses of Remifentanyl that targeted a serum concentration of 4.5 mcg/L during the procedure and reduced to achieve a target concentration of 1.5 mcg/L at the end of anesthesia. Individual infants were first breastfed as follows: 1.5 hours, 2.8 hours, 4.6 hours, and 5 hours after extubation. No signs of sedation were observed in any of the infants.[1]

Narcotics can increase serum prolactin.[2][3] However, the prolactin level in a mother with established lactation may not affect her ability to breastfeed. A double-blind, randomized study compared patient-controlled intravenous (IV) analgesia with Remifentanyl (n = 43) to a continuous meperidine infusion (n = 45) for labor analgesia. Patients receiving Remifentanyl used an average total dosage of 1035 mcg/kg and those receiving meperidine received an average total dosage of 150 mg/kg. Breastfeeding difficulties were experienced in 6.3% of the infants of mothers who received Remifentanyl and 12.8% of infants whose mothers received meperidine; however, this difference was not statistically significant.[4]