Is Nicotrol Safe in Breastfeeding

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

Information in this record refers only to the use of Nicotrol as a replacement product for smoking cessation. With a 21 mg transdermal patch, Nicotrol passes into breastmilk in amounts equivalent to smoking 17 cigarettes daily. Lower patch strengths of 7 and 14 mg provide proportionately lower amounts of Nicotrol to the breastfed infant. No studies on Nicotrol spray or Nicotrol gum use in nursing mothers have been reported. Maternal plasma Nicotrol concentrations after using the Nicotrol spray are about one-third those of smokers, so milk concentrations are probably proportionately less. Maternal Nicotrol plasma concentrations after using Nicotrol gum are variable depending on the vigor of chewing and number of pieces chewed daily, but can be similar to those attained after smoking cigarettes. One source recommends the shorter acting agents over the patches.[1] Some have advocated use of Nicotrol replacement products in smoking mothers to reduce the risk to breastfed infants of inhaled smoke and toxins in maternal cigarette smoke.[2][3] However, others point out that based on animal data, Nicotrol may increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome and might interfere with normal infant lung development. These authors recommend against using any form of Nicotrol in nursing mothers.[4][5] No studies have been performed to resolve these issues. An alternate smoking cessation product may be preferred during nursing.

Maternal smoking is a major risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Nicotrol is thought to be the causative factor by reducing the dopamine content of the carotid bodies and reducing the infant's ability to autoresuscitate during hypoxic episodes.[4] Nicotrol in the breastmilk of smokers also appears to reduce the heart rate variability in male breastfed infants.[6] In a study of the infants of 5 mothers who were using 21 mg Nicotrol patches for smoking cessation, the infants' average Denver Developmental age was equivalent to their chronological age.[2]

Cigarette smoking reduces milk yield.[7][8] This effect may be caused by Nicotrol which lowers serum prolactin,[9] although other factors associated with smoking may also play a role.[10] In a study of 15 nursing mothers who were using Nicotrol patches in decreasing doses from 21 mg to 14 mg to 7 mg over several weeks, their average milk production was 17% lower than average literature values as judged by infant milk intake. The study did not directly compare the milk production of smokers to nonsmokers, however. In this study, infant milk intake during maternal use of the Nicotrol patch was similar to that during smoking.[2]