Effect on the Neonate of Breastfeeding Mothers’ Pain Medications

To measure the risk to infants breastfed by mothers taking oxycodone, researchers from Canada and the Netherlands retrospectively compared three cohorts of breastfeeding women who contacted the Motherisk Program, a medication information program at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. They reviewed the files on 1,560 women who had contacted the program with questions about using oxycodone, codeine, or acetaminophen for pain management while breastfeeding. A telephone questionnaire was administered to 533 of these mothers who were available for follow-up. Mothers who took other sedative medications, alcohol, or drugs of abuse were excluded. Infants who had central nervous system (CNS) anomalies …