Can I take Didanosine while breastfeeding?

Is Didanosine safe while breastfeeding?

Here is what LactMed, the Drugs and Lactation Database published by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), reports about Didanosine. The text below is quoted from that source — it is not our own verdict.

Summary of use during breastfeeding

Didanosine has been removed from the US market. No published information is available on the use of didanosine during breastfeeding. Didanosine is not recommended during breastfeeding.[1] Achieving and maintaining viral suppression with antiretroviral therapy decreases breastfeeding transmission risk to less than 1%, but not zero. Individuals with HIV who are on antiretroviral therapy with a sustained undetectable viral load and who choose to breastfeed should be supported in this decision. If a viral load is not suppressed, banked pasteurized donor milk or formula is recommended.[2,3]

Effects on the breastfed infant

Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.

Effects on milk supply

Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.

Levels in milk

Maternal Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.

Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.

Alternatives LactMed lists

“No published information” means the studies do not exist yet — not that Didanosine is known to be harmful, and not that it is known to be safe. Your prescriber or pharmacist can weigh your baby's age and whether a better-studied alternative would do the same job. Worth asking before stopping a medicine you need.

Source: Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), via NCBI Bookshelf, record “Didanosine” (LM652). LactMed on NCBI Bookshelf. LactMed is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Educational summary of an authoritative source — not medical advice. Never start, stop, or change a medicine while breastfeeding without confirming with your doctor.