Is Clostridium botulinum Safe in Breastfeeding
Question
I am a breastfeeding mother and i want to know if it is safe to use Clostridium botulinum? Is Clostridium botulinum safe for nursing mother and child? Does Clostridium botulinum extracts into breast milk? Does Clostridium botulinum has any long term or short term side effects on infants? Can Clostridium botulinum influence milk supply or can Clostridium botulinum decrease milk supply in lactating mothers?
Clostridium botulinum lactation summary
- DrLact safety Score for Clostridium botulinum is 3 out of 8 which is considered Low Risk as per our analyses.
- A safety Score of 3 indicates that usage of Clostridium botulinum may cause some minor side effects in breastfed baby.
- Our study of different scientific research indicates that Clostridium botulinum may cause moderate to no side effects in lactating mother.
- Most of scientific studies and research papers declaring usage of Clostridium botulinum low risk in breastfeeding are based on normal dosage and may not hold true for higher dosage.
- While using Clostridium botulinum We suggest monitoring 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.
Answer by Dr. Ru: About Clostridium botulinum usage in lactation
Botulism is a severe disease caused by bacteria called Clostridium botulinum. The bacterium produces a paralyzing toxin which is used for treatment of muscle spasticity and other disorders. Reportedly, a woman affected of severe Botulinum disease nursed her 8 months old son during illness. Neither bacteria nor toxin were detected in both mother’s milk and stools of the infant, who did not show symptoms of disease. Also, anti-toxin medication given to the mother did not produce side-effects on the child. A high molecular weight along with a strong and rapid adherence to muscle plaque by toxin could explain its low excretion into breast milk. When adequately and locally administered, serum levels of toxin should be low. An infant born at 36 weeks of gestation, who had received intra-esophagus treatment with Botulinum toxin for achalasia during the last weeks of pregnancy, appeared healthy and did not show symptoms of hypotonia. Mother’s milk shows neutralizing capacity against Botulinum Toxin. It has been shown that the secretory IgA is able to bind the B fraction of toxin, resulting in inhibition of toxin attachment to intestinal cells and hence impairing absorption. It would explain that severity of disease is lower among breastfed infants than bottle-fed ones, with no death cases reported and delay in appearance of symptoms among breastfed infants in cases of Infant Botulism type B.