Is (-)-Dopa Safe in Breastfeeding

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

• DrLact safety Score for (-)-Dopa is 5 out of 8 which is considered Unsafe as per our analyses.
• A safety Score of 5 indicates that usage of (-)-Dopa may cause serious side effects in breastfed baby.
• Our study of different scientific research indicates that (-)-Dopa may cause moderate to high side effects or may affect milk supply in lactating mother.
• Our suggestion is to use safer alternate options rather than using (-)-Dopa .
• It is recommended to evaluate the advantage of not breastfeeding while using (-)-Dopa Vs not using (-)-Dopa And continue breastfeeding.
• While using (-)-Dopa Its must to monitor child for possible reactions. It is also important to understand that side effects vary largely based on age of breastfed child and time of medication in addition to dosage.
• Score calculated using the DrLact safety Version 1.2 model, this score ranges from 0 to 8 and measures overall safety of drug in lactation. Scores are primarily calculated using publicly available case studies, research papers, other scientific journals and publically available data.

It may decrease breast milk production by inhibiting release of prolactin.

Limited data indicate that (-)-Dopa is poorly excreted into breastmilk and that the sustained-release product may result in a smaller amount of drug transferred to the breastfed infant than with the immediate-release product. Several studies indicate that (-)-Dopa can decrease serum prolactin during lactation. The prolactin level in a mother with established lactation may not affect her ability to breastfeed. The effect of long-term use of (-)-Dopa on breastfeeding has not been adequately evaluated, although one mother was able to successfully breastfeed her infant without apparent harm while using relatively low doses of (-)-Dopa and carbidopa for Parkinson's disease.

One mother with Parkinson's disease took sustained-release (-)-Dopa 200 mg and carbidopa 50 mg 4 times daily. She successfully breastfed her infant whose development was normal at 2 years of age.[1]

(-)-Dopa decreases serum prolactin in normal women and those with hyperolactinemia[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] and can suppress inappropriate lactation in galactorrhea,[2] although not consistently.[7] On postpartum day 3, 5 women were given a single oral dose of 500 mg of (-)-Dopa or bromocriptine 5 mg followed by a single oral dose of metoclopramide 10 mg 3 hours later. Bromocriptine suppressed basal serum prolactin to a greater extent than (-)-Dopa. Over the next 3 hours, serum prolactin increased after metoclopramide in the patients who received (-)-Dopa, but not in those who received bromocriptine.[11] Six women who were 2 to 4 days postpartum but were not nursing were given 500 mg of (-)-Dopa orally on one day and 100 mg of (-)-Dopa plus 35 mg of carbidopa orally on the next day. Both regimens suppressed basal serum prolactin levels. However, (-)-Dopa alone caused an 78% decrease in prolactin while the lower dose combination produced only a 51% decrease. The maximal effect occurred about 2 hours after the dose with both regimens.[6] Seven women in the first week postpartum who were breastfeeding about 7 times daily were given (-)-Dopa 500 mg orally and their serum prolactin responses was studied. The following day, they started carbidopa 50 mg orally every 6 hours for 2 days. On the third day, they received a single dose of carbidopa 50 mg plus (-)-Dopa 125 mg orally. Decreases in basal serum prolactin occurred by 30 minutes after the (-)-Dopa and afer 45 minutes with the combination. Decreases were maximum at 120 minutes after the dose and were 62% with (-)-Dopa alone and 48% with the combination, although the difference between the 2 regimens was not statistically significant.[12] The prolactin level in a mother with established lactation may not affect her ability to breastfeed.