Experts call for more research on taking medications while breastfeeding

OB-GYNs are calling for more research into how drugs affect breastfeeding women in a new paper in NEJM. Breastfeeding and pregnant women are often excluded in scientific studies, leaving doctors and patients with many questions on which drugs to use, how much of a drug to use, and how drugs in breast milk might affect a baby. The authors lay out ways to improve research on lactating women, such as including them in early-stage clinical trials to get more information about dosing and efficacy. “There’s limited information in pregnancy. When you move to lactation, there’s even fewer studies,” Dr. Catherine Spong, a co-author of the paper, tells STAT.