TY - JOUR
T1 - Lithium in breast milk and nursing infants
T2 - Clinical implications
AU - Viguera, Adele C.
AU - Newport, D. Jeffrey
AU - Ritchie, James
AU - Stowe, Zachary
AU - Whitfield, Theodore
AU - Mogielnicki, Juliana
AU - Baldessarini, Ross J.
AU - Zurick, Amanda
AU - Cohen, Lee S.
PY - 2007/2
Y1 - 2007/2
N2 - Objective: Current practice guidelines discourage use of lithium during breast-feeding, despite limited data. This study aimed to quantify lithium exposure in nursing infants. Method: In 10 mother-infant pairs, the authors obtained assays of lithium in maternal serum, breast milk, and infant serum and indices of infant renal and thyroid function. Results: Maternal serum, breast milk, and infant serum daily trough concentrations of lithium averaged 0.76, 0.35, and 0.16 meq/liter, respectively, each lithium level lower than the preceding level by approximately one-half. No serious adverse events were observed, and elevations of thyroid-stimulating hormone, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine were few, minor, and transient. Conclusions: Serum lithium levels in nursing infants were low and well tolerated. No significant adverse clinical or behavioral effects in the infants were noted. These findings encourage reassessment of recommendations against lithium during breastfeeding and underscore the importance of close clinical monitoring of nursing infants.
AB - Objective: Current practice guidelines discourage use of lithium during breast-feeding, despite limited data. This study aimed to quantify lithium exposure in nursing infants. Method: In 10 mother-infant pairs, the authors obtained assays of lithium in maternal serum, breast milk, and infant serum and indices of infant renal and thyroid function. Results: Maternal serum, breast milk, and infant serum daily trough concentrations of lithium averaged 0.76, 0.35, and 0.16 meq/liter, respectively, each lithium level lower than the preceding level by approximately one-half. No serious adverse events were observed, and elevations of thyroid-stimulating hormone, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine were few, minor, and transient. Conclusions: Serum lithium levels in nursing infants were low and well tolerated. No significant adverse clinical or behavioral effects in the infants were noted. These findings encourage reassessment of recommendations against lithium during breastfeeding and underscore the importance of close clinical monitoring of nursing infants.
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U2 - 10.1176/ajp.2007.164.2.342
DO - 10.1176/ajp.2007.164.2.342
M3 - Article
C2 - 17267800
AN - SCOPUS:33847322060
VL - 164
SP - 342
EP - 345
JO - American Journal of Psychiatry
JF - American Journal of Psychiatry
SN - 0002-953X
IS - 2
ER -