Aspirin and Breastfeeding: What Nursing Mothers Need to Know

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued a policy statement recommending that nursing mothers should take the safest possible drugs when there are alternatives. As an example, AAP lists acetaminophen (Tylenol) as a better option that aspirin.

Identification

• Aspirin is a salicylate drug that is used for pain relief and as a blood thinner. According to the Drug Safety Site, it is excreted into breast milk in low concentrations.

History

• Sodium salicylate, a drug closely related to aspirin, was first detected in human breast milk in 1935.

Time Frame

• When a nursing mother takes aspirin, either in a single dose or in repeated doses, the concentration of the drug in her breast milk peaks nine hours later.

Potential

• Aspirin in human milk could potentially impact platelet function in the nursing infant. This can cause blood thinning, rashes, and bleeding.

Expert Insight

• AAP includes aspirin in its list of "drugs that have been associated with some significant effects in some nursing infants and should be given to nursing mothers with caution."