In plain words
LactMed is a free online database run by the United States National Library of Medicine. It has entries on medicines, herbs, vitamins, and other substances. Each entry describes what passes into breast milk, how much, and what is known about effects on a nursing baby. Entries list their sources, and many say when evidence is limited. Providers and lactation consultants often use it when a mother asks about a medicine. It does not tell anyone to start or stop a medicine. It describes what is known, and the decision stays with the mother and her provider. Many mothers bring an entry to a visit. Each entry shows the date it was last reviewed, because the evidence changes.
The deeper version
LactMed is the Drugs and Lactation Database maintained by the National Library of Medicine. Entries summarize and pharmacokinetic data, and where published, infant serum levels and adverse effects. Many entries report a , a screening estimate that compares the infant's weight-adjusted exposure from breast milk with the maternal weight-adjusted dose. It is often low for many drugs, but it is an estimate rather than a measured infant exposure. LactMed is widely used alongside clinical references such as the InfantRisk Center resources and Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine protocols. The controversy concerns sparse data for newer drugs, the limits of case reports, and how milk-transfer values translate to risk in preterm or medically complex infants.
Where it comes up
- Medications and breastfeeding: how to checkFeeding Your Baby
- Feeding choices and guiltFeeding Your Baby
- Herbs and teas postpartum: what's traditional, what's knownNourishment and Traditions
- Postpartum depressionPostpartum: Mind
- Therapy and medication after birth: what the options arePostpartum: Mind
- Getting sick while postpartumPostpartum: Your Body
What mothers here say about LactMed
No one has posted under this term yet.
Sources
- U.S. National Library of Medicine — LactMed: Drugs and Lactation Database