Zoloft and Breastfeeding?

I took Zoloft through the latter part of my pregnancy and the entire time I breastfed (almost 9 months). My doctor felt that the benefits far outweighed the risks, and so that was the route we decided to take. Hope that helps!

my OB said it was fine. I've been on it for three of my pregnancies and breastfeeding was not a problem.

I was on Zoloft before I got pregnant, while I was pregnant and am still on it and still nursing my 16 month old son. He's healthy and happy and I find that the possible risk to him is far less from the Zoloft than a mother losing her sanity.

Just my opinion! :) Good luck.

*Edit* I'm on 200 mg dosage.

Hi J.,

I have been on 50 mg of Zoloft since 2 weeks post-partum. I was on it prior to getting pregnant, and tapered off during my pregnancy. I started getting very anxious after the baby was born, so my OB thought I should go back on. Zoloft is the safest SSRI to take while pregnant and breastfeeding. My baby is now six months old, and is exclusively breastfed. She is healthy, happy, and advanced. (Oh, besides her first cold, which she has now!) I think you should have no issues going on Zoloft ... the higher risk is having an anxious and/or unhappy mama! Hope this helps!
J.

I take 100mgs of zoloft everyday and took 50mgs while pregnant. My baby is fine. He is not "mellow" or "druged" and his lungs are more than fine. I would change MDs. If your MD does not know that zoloft is safe to take while nursing, and that it is FAR safer than postpardom depression than I would find a new Doc.

I took the max dose of Zoloft for years and then got pregnant and worried the whole time...anyway, I kept taking the Zoloft during both pregnancies..... and breastfed each of my girls for almost a year. They are both very happy, healthy children. Smart, too....my second grader is reading on an ninth grade level.....sometimes I think she's smarter than me.

here's the deal....if you have moderate, or even severe depression like me, i would advise you to keep taking it during the breastfeeding. The last thing your new baby needs is a stressed out mom. Plus, that's not a good time to try to wean off the Rx...Stress can be worse than the drug.....Enjoy your baby and let your worries go.

When i breast fed my three sons i could eat cabbage and give them really bad stomach pain. gas) so i believe the zolof is affecting your daughter. You may very well need the antidepressant but do you really want to take the risk of afftecting your daughter for the rest of her life without being sure of the side effects on her. On the label of most medicines is the warning that if you are nursing your child do not take it. The effects are not researched and there is a real risk. Do you want to take that risk? Sometimes we are challenged to chose the best path not the perferred path in life. Take care of yourself while protecting your daughter. a win/win situation.

While pregnant with my triplets I took Lexapro. Since I wanted to try breastfeeding I asked my doctor if I could still take it. He suggested that I speak with a psychiatrist. She found that Zoloft was safer than Lexapro, so I switched. The babies are 8 months old now and doing well... and I am doing well on my 50mg dose of it as well.
Hope all goes well with you.

Any medicine you take while breastfeeding can affect your baby. Some medications are worse than others, but in the end it is all still medicine. You might need to do some more research about it because different people and babies respond differently. And what worked for someone, may not work for you, and I don't know if you would want to test it out. the amount passed through the breast milk is probably small, but I would listen to your doctor she may be able to prescribe something else that could help, or maybe lead you to something all natural to take while you are breastfeeding. I wish you the best.

I know this was posted awhile ago, but I wanted to give you this resource if you have questions about meds again in the future.

I just wanted to let you know about a new service that could be of real help to all the breastfeeding moms, particularly at this time of year when we might have to take medications. I have found that sometimes GP's or family doctors will tell you a medication is safe, which it is, but they don't really know or discuss the effect it might have on your supply. This would be a great help for that.

The National Library of Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health, recently launched LactMed, a new database of drug transmission to breast milk. You have to search by generic drug name, in at least some cases, i.e., "escitalopram" instead of "lexapro".

To get to LactMed:
1. go to www.nlm.nih.gov
2. Click on the "environmental health and toxicology link" on the
left navigation bar
3. You'll be taken to a page with a blue field with a search box
(on the right side of the page).
4. Under the search box you'll see a list of links, LactMed is on
that list.

Hope this helps!

i was on antidepressants the whole pregnancy with my 3rd son. and the whole time i breast fed him too. BUT only certain ones are safe enough. If your doctor says no.. then i would stay with no. mainly if you havent BEEN on it all the time you have been breastfeeding. it would be a big shock to the babys system to start gettinng it.

God Bless!
L. in Mathews

I took Zoloft with my son - who is now 20 months and a happy, healthy boy. I am also taking it now with my daughter who is 6 weeks old. Neither has had any ill effects from it. I agree with the mom who said it is much more risky to leave post partum depression untreated then to worry about the tiny amount of this medication that might be in your breastmilk.

If you're still concerned, do what my lactation consultant told me about any meds that worried me. (I had asked about this when needing a strong pain killer.) Take it at a time of day when you have the greatest period between nursing. For instance, you could take it after your last feeding at night. She told me that most drugs only have a limited time of potency and that by morning, it wouldn't have any effect in my breastmilk anyway.

Good luck!

I was told that Zoloft has the smallest amount that goes into breast milk of any of the anti-depressants. I took it while pregnant and still do while nursing. My son is healthy and happy. It is up to you to decide in my opinion.
S.

I am not sure about Zoloft, but I was on Prozac. My doctor said that it was fine. I was worried that it was going to interfere with the breast feeding and I would have to switch to formula. But he said that it was fine. But I have noticed from DR. to Dr. that it is different. I dont know if it is they brand, type, or milligrams that you take. Dont know if this helped but, I had no problems, my son is just fine and I dont think I could have gotten through it without my Prozac to be honest. I would suggest maybe getting a second and third opinion from other dr.s and see what they say/suggest. Best of Luck!

I started on Zoloft the day I had my daughter, who is 2 now and healthy as can be. I breastfed her for a year. I'm still on it and feel great. I'm a research guru and I did my research on it....From all the research and my personal experience, I totally support taking Zoloft while breastfeeding. I think it is very safe and my Doctor and Pharmacist agreed. My Doctor DID say that if I was concerned about it at all, that the amount of Zoloft that would be at it's peak would be 4 hours after taking it. Hope this helps!

I was on 50mg once a day all during the pregnancy and have continued it while breastfeeding (3 months now). I panicked this week because my latest refill had a sticker that said not to use while breastfeeding. I called the doc and they assured me it was ok. They confirmed that I had been on it while pregnant, not sure if that matters... maybe that makes it ok rather than starting it postpartum... they said it is a category B. i THINK that means that it has shown little risk.

When I had my second son I had been on Zoloft but when he was born they switched me to prozac because there were questionable issues about possible liver damage to my son. The change was necessary, but then again that was ten years ago. I would go with what your pediatrician says. They are the ones that know best. Take care and hope you feel better.

Zoloft is the antidepressant of choice for breastfeeding and pregnant mothers. As with any drug there is a risk/benefit ratio to think about. But if the benefit of the mother being on an antidepressant outweighs the risk to the baby, then zoloft is a really good choice.

I was on zoloft after the birth of M. second son. I went back on it halfway through M. third pregnancy and will stay on it until M. baby is one.

I was on Zoloft when I became pregnant. My OB/GYN said that it was okay to take until the 8th month. However, I immediatly stopped taking it when I found out that I was pregnant. The OB does not recommend taking Zoloft when breastfeeding. Recommendation....don't take it unless your depression is life threatening to yourself or daughter. I would listen to the doctor and not the pharmasist. I hope this helps

Hey J.!
I don't recommend taking zoloft while breastfeeding. I have a relative that took it during her pregnancy. She was told by the doctor that it was the #1 most prescribed medicine for pregnant women. The pharmacist had a fit and said that it wasn't recommended for pregnant women. After discussions between the pharmacy and the doctor they decided it was okay to take during the third trimester. To make a long story short: her baby was born with many problems. He is 20 months old now and has had two surgeries, is visually impaired(not blind just can't see well), has severe respiratory problems and went into full arrest(stopped breathing)this past new year's eve. He can't sit on his own, crawl or walk. My grandmother read in a prevention magazine that taking zoloft in the third trimester has been proven to cause severe respiratory problems. It may not affect a child that is already born but lots of medicines are passed to the baby through the breast milk. If it can cause problems after birth I don't know. BUT I wouldn't want to take the risk.
C.

well there is a risk with any meds while breastfeeding b/c it does get passed in the milk. If you can surrvive without it, that would be best. I would go with what the doc says. Good luck!

You have 3 choices when considering meds and breastfeeding...
1)Take the med...stop breastfeeding
2)Take the med...continue breastfeeding
3)Don't take med..continue breastfeeding

It's your choice...be informed..everyone has an opinion...including me
Dr. Thomas Hale has a book and a website regarding research with medications and mothers milk. there's also a website called motherrisk that will give you information.
Not all health care providers stay up-to-date on the latest research on meds and breastfeeding...you can always depend on a lactation counselor to have the up to date info.
There has been extensive research in the last year at the University of Illinois at Chicago...and at the University of Pittsburgh. I will say that the research shows that Zoloft is excreted very minimally into the breastmilk...

Hi J.,
I was taking Zoloft while nursing, and I nursed for about ten months. I did cut back to half my regular dose, since there were debates on if the baby would take in much of it. But the doctor was not concerned. When I tried cutting back, I didn't notice any side effects (for myself) and I felt better about the baby not getting as much in her system. Hope this helps!
R.

I was on Zoloft for a long time while I was breastfeeding and I had no problem at all. I wouldn't have been able to continue bfing for as long as I did without it because I was going through some crazy post partum depression. I was on a low dose while bfing. I hope you consider taking it if you really feel that you are a little depressed or overwhelmed. I was really nervouse about taking it at first, like I am sure you are feeling right now. As much as I feel bfing is best, you really need to take care of you for you to be the best mother you can be, breastfeeding or not. I hope things work out for you and baby! God bless!