Is Imipramine Safe in Breastfeeding

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

Milk levels of imipramine and its metabolite are low and have not been detected in the serum of breastfed infants. Immediate side effects have not been reported and a limited amount of follow-up has found no adverse effects on infant growth and development. Imipramine use during breastfeeding would usually not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants, especially if the infant is older than 2 months. Some experts consider imipramine one of the antidepressants of choice for nursing mothers.[1][2] Other agents with may be preferred when large doses are required or while nursing a newborn or preterm infant.

No behavioral or physical changes were noted in a 6-week-old breastfed infant whose mother had been taking imipramine 200 mg/day at bedtime for 15 days.[5] Follow-up for 1 to 3 years in 14 breastfed infants whose mothers were taking imipramine in an average dosage of 161 mg daily (range 125 to 225 mg daily) found no adverse effects on growth and development.[8] Four infants were breastfed for 7 to 18 weeks during maternal use of imipramine 75 to 150 mg daily starting at 2 weeks (3 infants) and 8 weeks (1 infant) postpartum. Formal testing indicated no adverse effects on infant development up to 30 months of age. The mother of 1 infant was taking haloperidol along with imipramine 150 mg daily.[6] In another study, 25 infants whose mothers took a tricyclic antidepressant during pregnancy and lactation were tested formally between 15 to 71 months and found to have normal growth and development. Some of the mothers were taking imipramine.[9] Six postpartum mothers diagnosed with panic disorder were successfully treated with imipramine 25 to 35 mg (mean 28 mg) daily starting at a mean of 5.9 weeks postpartum. Mothers were treated for a mean of 9.3 weeks. All mothers reported that no adverse effects occurred in their infants.[10]

Imipramine has caused increased prolactin levels and gynecomastia in nonpregnant, nonnursing patients.[11][12] Galactorrhea has been reported rarely.[13][14] The clinical relevance of these findings in nursing mothers is not known. The prolactin level in a mother with established lactation may not affect her ability to breastfeed. An observational study looked at outcomes of 2859 women who took an antidepressant during the 2 years prior to pregnancy. Compared to women who did not take an antidepressant during pregnancy, mothers who took an antidepressant during all 3 trimesters of pregnancy were 37% less likely to be breastfeeding upon hospital discharge. Mothers who took an antidepressant only during the third trimester were 75% less likely to be breastfeeding at discharge. Those who took an antidepressant only during the first and second trimesters did not have a reduced likelihood of breastfeeding at discharge.[15] The antidepressants used by the mothers were not specified. A retrospective cohort study of hospital electronic medical records from 2001 to 2008 compared women who had been dispensed an antidepressant during late gestation (n = 575) to those who had a psychiatric illness but did not receive an antidepressant (n = 1552) and mothers who did not have a psychiatric diagnosis (n = 30,535). Women who received an antidepressant were 37% less likely to be breastfeeding at discharge than women without a psychiatric diagnosis, but no less likely to be breastfeeding than untreated mothers with a psychiatric diagnosis.[16] None of the mothers were taking imipramine.