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I am 38 weeks prego and have been taking Xanax for the last four months and before I got pregnant but doctor advised I stop taking it my 7th through 12th week that it could cause a cleft palate, I began having nightmares and anxiety so the doc put me back on xanax saying the stress I was putting the baby under was worse than anything else. I want to br___t-=feed but I am not sure if it will effect the baby in a harm-ful manner. She will also go through withdrawl at birth. Any advice?
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i found this link on xanax. dr hale is very well informed on the effects of medication during pregnancy and b___stfeeding. i hope it helps. http://neonatal.ama.ttuhsc.edu/discus/messages/43/2406.html?1092924911
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i take this to, and have the same question. i can't get the link to work, can you re-post it, or can anyone else answer?
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We have only minimal data on Alprazolam(Xanax), however it does appear that when used during pregnancy some withdrawal may occur in the newborn infant. We also have data that suggests the same thing could occur in b___stfed infants when their mothers discontinue b___stfeeding, or discontinue the medication. However, a discontinuation syndrome is not in and of itself necessarily detrimental...it only suggests some is transferring to the infant.
From "peak data", it seems that about 7.8% of the dose of alprazolam is transferred to the infant via milk. If we had some good AUC data, it would probably be much much less.
I would suggest that if the infant is not showing symptoms of somnolence, apea, or sedation at this point, that the mom continue b___stfeeding. Doing a urine tox screen would only show that Xanax is transferring to the infant, not the clinical dose. Even a subclinical amount may show up on the tox screen and wouldn't really tell you that the amount the infant was receiving from milk was clinically relevant.
One last comment. The use of benzodiazepines in treating anxiety syndromes has changed in the last decade. Now it is generally recommended that the SSRIs be used primarily, and that the benzodiazepines only be used briefly until the SSRI becomes active. I'm not a psychiatrist, so I wouldn't dare suggest questioning this patients treatment, but as her physician I wonder if you might suggest adding some Zoloft and reducing the Xanax carefully. The addictive potential of Xanax is significant and it is sometimes hard to get patients off of it. My psychiatric department here seldom uses it because patients learn to like it too much.
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