Xanax and Breastfeeding

Submitted by Mark Berman Wed 05/25/2011

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This article looks at Xanax and breastfeeding. Millions of people take Xanax every day to treat anxiety. Some of them are women who have just given birth. Is it safe to continue taking Xanax and breastfeeding your baby?

Writing on iVillage.com, board certified lactation consultant Debbi Donovan says Xanax "is thought to be secreted in breastmilk," meaning your baby could also get some of the medication through your milk.

She continues on about Xanax and breastfeeding.:

It has a long half life of between 12 and 15 hours. (Hale 1996) This means it will take that amount of time for half of the drug to leave your system. Another 25% clears over the next 12 to 15 hours, and 12.5% over the next 12 to 15 hours, and so on.

Since Xanax stays in your system for a relatively long time, if you are taking it over a period of several days, it could cause sedation, irritability or insomnia in your baby.

The best advice would be not to take Xanax and breastfeeding at the same time. But make sure you check with your doctor to see if the harm of stopping the medication might be worse than the possible effects on your baby.

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