Is Risedronate 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 Risedronate. The text below is quoted from that source — it is not our own verdict.
Summary of use during breastfeeding
Because no information is available on the use of risedronate during breastfeeding, an alternate drug may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant. However, absorption of risedronate by a breastfed infant is unlikely.
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
Risedronate has a serum half-life of about 1.5 hours and is poorly absorbed orally (average in adults 0.6% on an empty stomach, 0.3% with food), so absorption of risedronate by a breastfed infant is unlikely.
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 Risedronate 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 “Risedronate” (LM721). 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.