domperidone during pregnancy?

[@llli*monika.h]

Long story short, a woman I know is nursing a 6 month old and is also pregnant with baby # 2. The 1st baby has hardly gained in 2 months and she went to the doctor and he prescribed domperidone and she expects to be on it the rest of her pregnancy.

Questions: Will it even work to boost her supply? Is it safe? I had assumed the doctor would tell her to supplement with formula, I'm quite surprised by this.

[@llli*nolies.mama]

It is NOT recommended during pregnancy. I posted this for another mama once that asked the same ?. It is from Dr Hale.

Babysosmart posted on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - 01:24 pm Edit Post Delete Post Print Post
Hello, I have a question regarding the safety of using domperidone during pregnancy. Have not been able to find any data in the most recent MMM. Have a mom who has self-dosed/self-purchased domperidone out of Canada and has been taking for at least 4-5 months, who now wants to begin trying to become pregnant again, but is concerned about doing this while continuing to take domperidone. I have advised her several times to taper off the domperidone, she refuses due to her fear of losing her current milk supply. Any info regarding safety of use during pregnancy and also any concerns about LT use of domperidone would be appreciated. Thank you. Tiffany Speck, RN, LLL

Tom posted on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - 01:34 pm Edit Post Delete Post Print Post
Tiffany:

I too would recommend that she taper BEFORE she gets pregnant. While I cannot find any real data that suggests domperidone is a teratogen in humans, there is substancial evidence that it is a teratogen in animal model systems.

I would not recommend she be taking domperidone while becoming pregnant.

Tom Hale Ph.D.

emphasis mine

[@llli*monika.h]

Wow, thanks, I will pass the info on to this mom. I can't believe her doctor prescribed this.

[@llli*nolies.mama]

Originally Posted by @llli*monika.h

Wow, thanks, I will pass the info on to this mom. I can't believe her doctor prescribed this.

Me either.

Good thing you were checking for her!

[@llli*buff24]

I agree with Hillary, it should not be taken during pregnancy. I was in the process of weaning off domperidone when I got pg this time, and when I found out I was pg immediately stopped taking the small dose I was still taking. Besides the fact that the drug can be passed to the fetus, it is my understanding that the hormones of pregnancy typically inhibit milk production, so taking domperidone probably wouldn't help her that much anyway. In her particular situation, I would probably recommend supplementing with formula. Good thing you are looking out for your friend!

[@llli*kelmareuby]

i got pregnant with DD when DS was about 5 months.. and i would recommend lots of water intake and calories.. that should help keep her supply up as long as possible..

we did end up having to supplement DS but maybe she wont have to. The weight gain seems like she might need to.. tell her to count wet dipes!

[@llli*monika.h]

Thanks for the replies. She's very much against formula as her 1st child was formula fed and I think had health issues. Her doctor and pharmacist have both assured her its safe, not sure how they can considering no studies on humans, but of course she won't listen to me now.

[@llli*nolies.mama]

Originally Posted by @llli*monika.h

Thanks for the replies. She's very much against formula as her 1st child was formula fed and I think had health issues. Her doctor and pharmacist have both assured her its safe, not sure how they can considering no studies on humans, but of course she won't listen to me now.

Can you encourage her to write Dr Hale? (or have a LLL leader do it?) I mean that post WAS a question from a leader....

Or maybe Dr Newman. He generally responds very quickly to emails.

Doctors and pharmacists know next to nothing about meds. Nothing. Oh that is so scary. Good luck mama. I hope that you can convince her.

[@llli*nolies.mama]

Here is some more info I found here.

Domperidone - Teratogenic Agent: There is evidence to indicate that exposure to Domperidone during pregnancy may have a teratogenic effect on the fetus. A teratogen is a substance that can cause birth defects. The likelihood and severity of defects may be affected by the level of exposure and the stage of pregnancy
that the exposure occurred at. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Domperidone - Teratogenic Agent is available below.
Symptoms of Domperidone - Teratogenic Agent
Click to Check

* Heart defects
* Limb reduction defects
* more symptoms...»

[@llli*LLLmama-julie]

Wow, that is surprising! There's not a whole lot you can do to increase milk supply during pregnancy if it goes down. Most of the galactogogues are not safe while pg anyway. Prolactin levels are so high when you're pg (to maintain the pregnancy) that not much can get that milk supply up. The signal for your body to start producing milk is a big drop in prolactin after the placenta is delivered, so as long as your prolactin levels are high, it is hard to get milk production up. Of course there are some mothers who are exceptions to this and produce plenty of milk, but I think for most moms, their supply drops dramatically.