Sumatriptan

Excerpt

Because of the low levels of sumatriptan in breastmilk, amounts ingested by the infant are small. It also has poor oral bioavailability, further decreasing infant exposure to the drug. Some authors have suggested that withholding breastfeeding for 8 hours after a single subcutaneous injection would virtually eliminate infant exposure to the drug.[1] The manufacturer recommends withholding breastfeeding for 12 hours after a dose. Withholding breastfeeding might be helpful in extreme cases, such as in the mother of a preterm infant, but sumatriptan would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in most breastfed infants and has been recommended as a triptan of choice in breastfeeding.[1] Painful, burning nipples and breast pain have been reported after doses of sumatriptan and other triptans. This has occasionally been accompanied by a decrease in milk production.