Is Loperamide 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 Loperamide. The text below is quoted from that source — it is not our own verdict.
Summary of use during breastfeeding
The amount of loperamide that enters milk from a prodrug of loperamide is minimal. Use of loperamide during breastfeeding is unlikely to affect the infant with standard doses.[1,2]
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. Loperamide has not been studied during breastfeeding, but the loperamide prodrug, loperamide oxide, has been studied in a dosage of 2 doses of 4 mg given 12 hours apart to 6 women 18 to 47 hours after delivery. Median loperamide milk concentrations were 0.18 mcg/L at 12 hours after the first dose, 0.27 mcg/L at 6 hours after the second dose, and 0.19 mcg/L at 24 hours after the second dose.[3]
Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Loperamide in pregnancy
LactMed covers breastfeeding only. For what the NHS and the US prescribing label say about pregnancy, see:
“No published information” means the studies do not exist yet — not that Loperamide 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 “Loperamide” (LM424). 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.