High doses of aspirin and nursing

QUESTION: My wife has been prescribed to take aspirin 500 (one every 6 hours) because of some arthritis complications. One pediatrian says is ok to continue breastfeeding, another one says no... what is your opinion?

Dear Fernando

The reason you are probably getting mixed messages from the baby's doctors is because in rare cases when children with viral illnesses -- colds, chicken pox etc. were given aspirin directly, there were also cases of Reyes syndrome (a very serious disorder).

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends caution in breastfeeding moms taking aspirin while nursing especially if mom is taking high doses (500 mg every 6 hours is not an excessively high dose) Perhaps you could try other medications such as ibuprofen or naproxyn first to see if they help your symptoms.

 Good Luck,

Anne Norton-Krawciw, RPh, IBCLC

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