Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone knows of asthma meds that are safe to take when breastfeeding. I am currently taking Pulmicort and Singular as preventative meds, and Albuterol as needed.

Many thanks.

LM

It is not known if Pulmicort is passed to the baby in breast milk. It is important to talk to your doctor about this, as there are risks associated with you stopping this drug for a period of months while you breastfeed.

Singulair is to be used during pregnancy only if it is clearly needed. Again, it is not known if Singulair is passed into the breast milk. This is why you should use Singulair with caution while you are breastfeeding. Again, there are risks associated with you stopping this drug.

As for your Albuterol, since it is taken on an as-needed basis for emergency situations, if an emergency arises you should consider your life before the health of your breast-milk. As Albuterol has been rated as safe-to-use-in-usual-doses while breastfeeding, and especially because this IS an emergency drug, it is the one you should worry about the least.

It is important for you to speak with your physician about the choice to stop any of these drugs. Only you and your doctor know you and your asthma well enough to decide if you're well enough to consider stopping or lowering the doses of either one of these drugs. If you do have bad asthma, I wouldn't be surprised if he decides not to take you off of these drugs, as a potential side-effect in a baby that is manageable is uniquely preferable to your death by an asthma attack.

10 Canadians die of asthma each day. Your life isn't to be played with. Though neither is the health of your baby.