RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Safety of codeine during breastfeeding
JF Canadian Family Physician
JO Can Fam Physician
FD The College of Family Physicians of Canada
SP 33
OP 35
VO 53
IS 1
A1 Madadi, Parvaz
A1 Koren, Gideon
A1 Cairns, James
A1 Chitayat, David
A1 Gaedigk, Andrea
A1 Leeder, J. Steven
A1 Teitelbaum, Ronni
A1 Karaskov, Tatyana
A1 Aleksa, Katarina
YR 2007
UL http://www.cfp.ca/content/53/1/33.abstract
AB QUESTION Recently a newborn died from morphine poisoning when hismother used codeine while breastfeeding. Many patients receive codeine for postlabour pain. Is it safe to prescribe codeine for nursing mothers? ANSWER When a mother is an ultrarapid metabolizer of cytochrome P450 2D6, she produces much more morphine when taking codeine than most people do. In this situation, newborns might be exposed to toxic levels of morphine when breastfeeding. Options to reduce this risk include discontinuing codeine after 2 to 3 days of use and being aware of symptoms of potential opioid toxicity in both mothers and newborns.