Is Ferrous Gluconate Safe in Breastfeeding
Question
I am a breastfeeding mother and i want to know if it is safe to use Ferrous Gluconate? Is Ferrous Gluconate safe for nursing mother and child? Does Ferrous Gluconate extracts into breast milk? Does Ferrous Gluconate has any long term or short term side effects on infants? Can Ferrous Gluconate influence milk supply or can Ferrous Gluconate decrease milk supply in lactating mothers?
Ferrous Gluconate lactation summary
- DrLact safety Score for Ferrous Gluconate is 1 out of 8 which is considered Safe as per our analyses.
- A safety Score of 1 indicates that usage of Ferrous Gluconate is mostly safe during lactation for breastfed baby.
- Our study of different scientific research also indicates that Ferrous Gluconate does not cause any serious side effects in breastfeeding mothers.
- Most of scientific studies and research papers declaring usage of Ferrous Gluconate 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 Ferrous Gluconate usage in lactation
Several ferrous salts of iron (ascorbate, aspartate, citrate, chloride, fumarate, gluconate, lactate, oxalate, succinate, sulfate, glycine sulfate, etc.) are used in oral administration for treating or preventing iron deficiency anemia.Its molecular weight varies from 170 for the fumarate and succinate, and from 280 for lactate and sulfate to 400 for aspartate and ascorbate. Characteristics of iron metabolism in the body make unlikely that it would be excreted in a significant amount into breast milk.It is a medication used for treatment of Neonatal Anemia in premature babies. Iron is excreted in small amounts in human milk, usually being enough for covering the daily needs of infants due to its high bioavailability. There is no correlation between mother's daily intake of iron and its concentration in breast milk.Iron supplementation to the mother does not increase levels of iron in breast milk or infant plasma significantly. Excessive supplementation can reduce the zinc concentration in milk. WHO List of Essential Medicines 2002: compatible with breastfeeding.