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Hi Sally, Per my lactation specialists advice, I have been taking Reglan consistently and sometimes domperidone, since my daughter has been a few months old. She started gaining when I started on these drugs. She is now just turning 6 mos. Everytime I cut down to two Reglan's, my milk supply is lower and I have very, very small if not nill letdowns in the late afternoon and evening from about 4pm-9:00pm, sometimes later and have to give her a bottle before bed. I have no side effects and the drugs really work for me. Are there any dangers I should be aware of?
Dear Jeanine,
First, congratulations for giving your daughter the best start in life by breastfeeding her!
On the Reglan you're taking, I found the following (scroll down) in the LactMed database. However, I spoke to a pediatrician with a special interest in drugs during lactation, and he feels that if you have been taking the drug this long and have had no ill effects, it probably won't hurt you. I assume that your baby is doing well -- I hope so!
I wonder whether you have tried to build your milk supply in other ways -- nursing more frequently, pumping, etc. I give suggestions in my book (see below) and other books about breastfeeding also talk about this.
Good luck!
Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters. Now in revision for a fourth edition, with Laura M. Marks, M.D.
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http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/f?./temp/~04HrIg:1
Metoclopramide [active ingredient in Reglan]
Postpartum mothers are at a relatively high risk for postpartum depression and metoclopramide can cause depression as a side effect. Therefore, metoclopramide should probably be avoided in women with a history of major depression and not used for prolonged periods in any mothers during this time of high susceptibility. Long-term uses of metoclopramide also increases the risk of tardive dyskinesia. Other reported side effects in nursing mothers include tiredness, nausea, headache, vertigo, intestinal gas, hair loss and anxiety.[1][2]
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Answers by Expert:
Sally Wendkos Olds
Expertise
What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200 articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.
Experience
I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition. I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009. I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.
Credentials I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.
Other points of interest
I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding.
To find out more about me, go to
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