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.

In This Article

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

Metformin regulates the levels of sugar in the blood

Image: Shutterstock

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).

protip_icon 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)

Metformin helps treat polycystic ovaries during breastfeeding

Image: Shutterstock

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.

protip_icon 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?

Your doctor will prescribe a safe dose of metformin

Image: Shutterstock

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).

protip_icon 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).

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Will metformin slow down my baby’s growth?

Metformin does not pass in large quantities into the breastmilk and has no negative impact on the baby’s growth and development. You can discuss with your obstetrician and pediatrician if you have any apprehensions regarding metformin use during breastfeeding (7).

2. Does metformin make a baby bigger?

No definitive medical research links a nursing mother’s use of metformin and an increase in the size of the breastfed baby. Metformin passes only in trace amounts in breast milk and is unlikely to cause any impact on the baby (8).

3. Will metformin help to increase the milk supply?

According to a pilot study, metformin may sometimes be used as a galactagogue in women with decreased milk production. Therefore, get in touch with your doctor for lactation support. However, more studies are required to confirm this fact (9).

During breastfeeding, most mothers are cautious about their food and medicine intake. Hence, it is natural to wonder if you could take metformin during breastfeeding. Note that the health benefits of this drug make it safe for intake during nursing. However, keep your medical supervisor informed if you notice any changes in the feeding pattern. Additionally, you can take advice from a lactation consultant if you experience issues with your breast milk supply. Although the chances of those nursing changes due to metformin are rare, it is safe to stay in the loop with the details. Therefore, it is advisable to check with your doctor if you have any queries regarding the intake of drugs while breastfeeding.

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.

uses of metformin for breastfeeding mothers (infographic)

Illustration: Momjunction Design Team

Get the high-quality PDF version of this infographic.

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

Key Takeaways

  • Metformin safely treats type 2 diabetes and offers certain health benefits.
  • It regulates blood sugar, reduces the risk of heart problems and strokes, and treats polycystic ovary syndrome and metabolic syndrome.
  • Lactating mothers can consider using Metformin as its concentrations in breast milk are very low.
  • However, it is recommended to consult a doctor before using Metformin while breastfeeding.

Personal Experience: Source

References

MomJunction's articles are written after analyzing the research works of expert authors and institutions. Our references consist of resources established by authorities in their respective fields. You can learn more about the authenticity of the information we present in our editorial policy.
  1. Metformin.
    https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a696005.html
  2. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Metformin But Were Afraid to Ask.
    https://diatribe.org/everything-you-always-wanted-know-about-metformin-were-afraid-ask#:~:text=How%20does%20metformin%20work%3F
  3. Treating Metabolic Syndrome.
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1949307/
  4. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): metformin.
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25814168/
  5. Transfer of metformin into human milk.
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12436333/
  6. What Evidence Do We Have for Pharmaceutical Galactagogues in the Treatment of Lactation Insufficiency?—A Narrative Review.
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6567188/
  7. Pregnancy breastfeeding and fertility while taking metformin
    https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/metformin/pregnancy-breastfeeding-and-fertility-while-taking-metformin/
  8. Metformin
    https://mothertobaby.org/fact-sheets/metformin-pregnancy/#:~:text=The%20amount%20of%20metformin%20thatinfants%20who%20were%20formula%2Dfed.
  9. Metformin.
    hhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501020/
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