Is Metformin Safe During Breastfeeding?

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While breastmilk for a baby provides a booster to a healthier life, in women, breastfeeding helps to prevent various illnesses, including diabetes. However, if you already have diabetes, you might be wondering if you can take antidiabetic medications like Metformin during breastfeeding. The use of maternal medication during breastfeeding should be carefully evaluated to ensure that it does not negatively impact maternal health or the health of the baby. Since breastfeeding plays a crucial role in a baby’s growth, it is important that mothers stay healthy during breastfeeding. Read this post to know about the safety and health benefits of Metformin in breastfeeding mothers.

What Is Metformin?

Metformin is one of the most effective and safe treatments for type 2 diabetes. Patients typically consume the drug alone or with other medications, such as insulin, to treat diabetes. Metformin falls in the ‘biguanides’ class of drugs. Apart from glucose control, metformin also offers numerous other health benefits (1).

What Are The Health Benefits Of Metformin While Breastfeeding?

Here we list some of the health benefits of consuming metformin while breastfeeding.

1. Regulates blood sugar levels

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Metformin helps control the amount of sugar in the blood of lactating moms. The drug also reduces the quantity of glucose that you absorb from your food and the quantity of glucose that your liver produces. Metformin also raises your body’s response to insulin, the naturally-occurring chemical that regulates glucose in your blood (2).

Caution

Do not reduce the dosage or discontinue using metformin without consulting the doctor, even if you begin to feel better, as metformin only controls your diabetes but does not cure it (1).

2. Treats metabolic syndrome

Women who suffer from metabolic syndrome and face obesity issues post-delivery. As obesity leads to excess weight accumulation in the belly, the lactating mother can develop insulin resistance. As a result, she may suffer from type 2 diabetes. Metformin lowers insulin resistance and helps women suffering from metabolic syndrome lose weight (3).

3. Prevents the risk of heart problems and stroke

Consuming metformin helps reduce triglyceride levels and LDL cholesterol levels in nursing mothers. Low triglyceride and LDL cholesterol levels ensure your good health and prevent the risk of heart disease and stroke to a great extent.

4. Treats polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

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Lactating women with polycystic ovary syndrome tend to suffer hormone imbalance that results in the production of harmful levels of male androgen hormones in their bodies. As a result, women with PCOS tend to gain weight, experience endometriosis, and have irregular hair growth patterns. If you avoid checking androgen hormone levels, you can be at a high risk of developing uterine cancer, high blood pressure, infertility, or heart ailments. Consuming metformin helps reduce insulin resistance, which in turn reduces the androgen levels in women and prevents health hazards due to PCOS (4).

Chloe Bridge, an ardent vlogger, has PCOS and uses Metformin to manage her symptoms. Sharing her experience, she says, “At first, I wanted to go all-natural and see if I could improve my cycles, weight, acne, and all the PCOS symptoms without medicines. I took up a healthy lifestyle, and during these four months, I was exercising and eating the best I have in a long time but only lost 1.5 kilos. I went back to my GP and explained what I’d been doing over these four months and the results that I had or had not seen, and they agreed that metformin would be the next thing.

“Although it has not been a life-changing thing, metformin did help me. I will say that my skin has been so much better again, and the need to constantly snack has been so much better on the metformin, and I feel like my hair is healthier. So all the symptoms that I’ve had with PCOS and have been slightly better on it and also although I’ve not lost weight, I’ve not gained it either (i).”

5. Encourages appropriate weight loss

Consuming metformin lowers LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels in lactating mothers and prevents additional weight gain. In fact, the drug helps women get rid of obesity and maintain appropriate weight post-delivery thus improving their postpartum health.

In spite of the numerous health benefits, the use of metformin during breastfeeding is a subject of concern for some women due to fears regarding infant development and infant health.

Caution

Consult a doctor if you notice severe or persistent side effects such as bloating, heartburn, constipation, nail changes, muscle pain, chest pain, or rashes after you start metformin (1).

Is Metformin Safe While Breastfeeding?

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Metformin concentrations in breast milk are low, and the infant’s exposure is a tiny percentage (about 0.28% as per some studies) of the maternal dose (5). Therefore, the drug is safe for lactating mothers and their babies. Nevertheless, consult your doctor and consume only the prescribed quantity of metformin to regulate the blood sugar level while breastfeeding. Your doctor will be sharing critical information related to medication safety to prevent the risk of harm to you and your little one.

Can Metformin Prevent Lactation Insufficiency?

Metformin has been explored for its potential to increase breast milk supply in a study. The study involved mothers with low milk production and signs of insulin resistance. Ove­r four weeks, they took either metformin or a placebo. The research did not show a significant boost in milk production for either group. Notably, some who completed the metformin treatment showed increased milk output, but only a fifth experienced improvement. Some participants reported some gastrointestinal side effects like diarrhea and nausea, e­ven causing one participant to quit because­ of severe cramps. As this evidence comes from a small pilot study, the role of metformin in preventing lactation insufficiency remains uncertain (6).

Point to consider

Although metformin is safe during breastfeeding, consult a doctor if your baby is not feeding properly and seems hungrier, looks restless, pale, irritable or drowsy, and is peeing or sweating more (7).

Infographic: Uses Of Metformin For Breastfeeding Mothers

Metformin is an antidiabetic drug that is secreted in breast milk in low amounts. The infographic below summarizes the health conditions that may require metformin treatment, along with additional benefits. However, seek your doctor’s approval before taking this medicine.

Illustration: Momjunction Design Team

Curious about the safety of taking Metformin during pregnancy? Gain valuable information on this topic through this video, examining the risks and considerations.

Illustration: Is Metformin Safe while Breastfeeding?

Image: Dall·E/MomJunction Design Team

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Reviewer Author Editor Fact Checker

Arushi AgrawalIBCLC

Arushi Agarwal is a certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) who started as a mom. She has four years of experience and currently works at Surya Hospital, Jaipur. Her struggles through the journey of breastfeeding led her to her mission of passionately creating awareness about the struggles of breastfeeding and the need for help.

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Jessica AlbertBE

Jessica Albert is a passionate writer who seeks to connect with her readers through wit and charm. Her work aims to invoke curiosity and keep the readers engaged through and through. She has two years of experience working with magazines and e-commerce establishments as a content marketer and editor.

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Rohit GarooBSc, MBA

Rohit Garoo is a writer-turned-editor with over 9 years of experience in content writing, editing, and content marketing. He did his bachelors in Science at St. Xavier's College, Hyderabad, and masters in Business Administration at Osmania University.

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Shinta Liz SunnyM.Tech

Shinta is a biotechnologist who is highly intrigued by science and technology. She holds a master's degree in Biotechnology from Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences and a PG Diploma in cellular and molecular diagnostics from Manipal University.

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