Is Prucalopride 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 Prucalopride. The text below is quoted from that source — it is not our own verdict.
Summary of use during breastfeeding
No published experience exists with prucalopride during breastfeeding. However, the manufacturer reports an unpublished study that indicates a relatively low amount of drug in breastmilk. Until more data become available, monitor the breastfed infant for diarrhea.
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. The manufacturer reports an unpublished study in 8 healthy lactating women who were weaning their infants and given prucalopride 2 mg daily for 4 days. Plasma and milk samples were collected at predose (day 1 and 4), and at 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours after the dose on day 4. The dose to the breastfed infant was estimated to be 1.74 mcg/kg daily, which is about 6% of the weight-adjusted maternal dose.
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 Prucalopride 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 “Prucalopride” (LM1456). 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.