Is BCNU Safe in Breastfeeding
Question
I am a breastfeeding mother and i want to know if it is safe to use BCNU? Is BCNU safe for nursing mother and child? Does BCNU extracts into breast milk? Does BCNU has any long term or short term side effects on infants? Can BCNU influence milk supply or can BCNU decrease milk supply in lactating mothers?
BCNU lactation summary
- DrLact safety Score for BCNU is 7 out of 8 which is considered Dangerous as per our analyses.
- A safety Score of 7 indicates that usage of BCNU may cause toxic or severe side effects in breastfed baby.
- Our study of different scientific research indicates that BCNU 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 BCNU .
- Usage of BCNU is in contradiction to breastfeeding hence if it is must to use BCNU and there is no better alternative available then breastfeeding shall be stopped permanently or temporarily.
- 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.
Answer by Dr. Ru: About BCNU usage in lactation
Drug is cleared from the body after 25-50 elimination half-life. Resuming breastfeeding is likely safe after 48 hours of pump-and-dump.
Answer by DrLact: About BCNU usage in lactation
No information is available on the use of BCNU during breastfeeding. Most sources consider breastfeeding to be contraindicated during maternal antineoplastic drug therapy, especially alkylating agents such as BCNU.[1] The manufacturer recommends that breastfeeding be discontinued during BCNU therapy and for 1 month after the last dose.
BCNU Possible Effects in Breastfeeding
Some evidence indicates that BCNU can increase serum prolactin.[2]