Question

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

Methylcobalamin lactation summary

Methylcobalamin is safe in breastfeeding
  • DrLact safety Score for Methylcobalamin is 1 out of 8 which is considered Safe as per our analyses.
  • A safety Score of 1 indicates that usage of Methylcobalamin is mostly safe during lactation for breastfed baby.
  • Our study of different scientific research also indicates that Methylcobalamin does not cause any serious side effects in breastfeeding mothers.
  • Most of scientific studies and research papers declaring usage of Methylcobalamin safe in breastfeeding are based on normal dosage and may not hold true for higher 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 Methylcobalamin usage in lactation

Vitamin B12 exists naturally in milk at a concentration of 1 nanogram / mL (range: 0.3 to 3 ng / mL). Maternal supplementation with cyanocobalamin barely increases milk levels in well-nourished women (Sandberg 1981), but it does improve the levels in women of low socioeconomic status (Sneed 1981). The concentration in colostrum is up to 28 times higher than that of mature milk.The daily requirements for Vitamin B12 are 2.4 micrograms and increase to 2.8 micrograms daily during breastfeeding. Foods rich in vitamin B12 are meat, offal, eggs, dairy products, salmon, sardines, clams and fortified cereals. With a varied and balanced diet no vitamin supplements are needed, but B12 deficiency has been observed in the plasma and milk of women with strict vegetarian diets (vegans), malabsorptive diseases (eg, Crohn's disease, celiac disease), bariatric surgery, poor nutritional status, pernicious anemia, low socio-economic status and in cases of natural disasters or wars. There are numerous publications showing that infants of these mothers are at high risk of disease due to vitamin B12 deficiency, which can lead to anemia, stunting and psychomotor retardation. "Flash pasteurization" applied to breast milk of mothers who are HIV+ does not decrease vitamin B12 concentration. American Academy of Pediatrics: medication usually compatible with breastfeeding (AAP 2001).
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