Is Quazepam 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 Quazepam. The text below is quoted from that source — it is not our own verdict.
Summary of use during breastfeeding
No information is available on the long-term use of quazepam during breastfeeding. Because the drug and metabolites could accumulate in the breastfed infant, an alternate drug may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant.
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
Quazepam has a half-life of about 41 hours and is extensively metabolized to 2-oxoquazepam, which is in turn metabolized to desalkylflurazepam having a half-life of 47 to 100 hours.
Maternal Levels. Four women received a single dose of quazepam 15 mg orally. Milk was collected at intervals up to 48 hours after the dose. Quazepam reached a maximum milk level averaging 95.8 mcg/L (range 26 to 216 mcg/L) at 3 hours (range 2 to 4 hours) after the dose. The 2-oxoquazepam metabolite reached a maximum milk level averaging 26.1 mcg/L at 3 hours (range 2 to 4 hours) after the dose. Desalkylflurazepam reached a maximum milk level averaging 2 mcg/L at 7 hours (range 4 to 12 hours) after the dose. Over the 48 hours after the dose, about 0.11% of the mother's total dose was excreted into breastmilk. The authors estimated that this amounts to 2.3% of the maternal weight-adjusted dosage. Because of accumulation with repeated administration, an exclusively breastfed infant would receive 0.19% of the mother's absolute dose or about 4% of the maternal weight-adjusted dosage.[1]
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 Quazepam 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 “Quazepam” (LM383). 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.