Is Suboxone breastfeeding dangerous because the medication contains the opioid, buprenorphine?

Is buprenorphine and breastfeeding a bad combination? Suboxone is an addiction treatment drug that contains buprenorphine and naloxone.

Buprenorphine is categorized as an opioid, but it is only a partial agonist, or activator, of the opioid receptor. It is, at the same time, a potent blocker of the receptor. Naloxone is included in the formulation as an abuse deterrent, making Suboxone patients physically sick if they try to shoot up their Suboxone.

It is well known that using opioids during pregnancy is a bad idea. Babies born to mothers who use opioids are at risk for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS).

Similarly, it is also well known that opioids and breastfeeding make a bad combination. For example, oxycodone and breastfeeding lead to oxycodone getting into the breastmilk which gets into the baby’s system.

Fentanyl-using mothers risk feeding their baby fentanyl breast milk. Breastfeeding and opioids can be a dangerous, or even deadly situation, especially fentanyl and breastfeeding.

While we are clear on the risks of opioids of abuse taken by mothers during breastfeeding, what about opioids used for addiction treatment? What about methadone and buprenorphine?

Is it safe for a new mother who goes to the methadone clinic to stay opioid-free to also breastfeed? Will methadone get into breastmilk?

Methadone and breastfeeding may be safe, but new mothers must be careful.

Breastfeeding while under the care of a methadone maintenance clinic is allowed by many pediatricians, but they recommend being extra careful. While the amount of methadone that gets in the breastmilk is minimal, there is a small amount that gets to the baby.

The mother must observe her baby to ensure that there are no symptoms of opioid intoxication at all. If the baby seems to be sedated or behaves unusually in any way, the mother should stop breastfeeding, and get emergency medical care.

However, the risks are considered to be minimal, and there are many benefits of breastfeeding for the newborn. Many mothers have breastfed their newborns without incident while stable on methadone treatment.

It is, of course, understandable that mothers would be concerned, if they take methadone, and they are considering breastfeeding their newborn. Methadone is a powerful opioid agonist with a very long half-life.

Most recovering opioid addicts are very aware of the dangers of methadone intoxication and the risk of methadone overdose. Yet, breastfeeding does not pose a significant risk for babies whose mothers are drug-free, yet they are on methadone maintenance.

Is it safe to take Suboxone while breastfeeding?

Suboxone and breastfeeding are considered to be safe. As with methadone, very little of the buprenorphine in Suboxone gets into the breastmilk.

Again, the benefits of breastfeeding outweigh the very minimal risk of traces of buprenorphine affecting the newborn. Pediatricians generally recommend that mothers on Suboxone or Subutex may breastfeed.

Overall, buprenorphine is a safer addiction treatment medication, compared to methadone. If methadone is considered to be relatively safe for breastfeeding, new mothers should have an even higher comfort level with buprenorphine.

In fact, for mothers who are stable on Suboxone therapy, pregnancy and early motherhood can be enjoyed. Is Suboxone and pregnancy a good idea? MAT with buprenorphine keeps pregnant women with an opioid addiction away from dangerous opioids of abuse, though most often, doctors do switch pregnant women from Suboxone to Subutex.

With regards to breastfeeding, the benefits far outweigh any minimal risks. Suboxone is a safe and effective medical treatment, and doctors have observed many breastfeeding patients over the years, with few medication-related incidents.

The most important consideration is that the new mother is not using street drugs. Also, she is not consuming uncontrolled, large amounts of potent opioids, such as heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, or oxymorphone.

Why bother with breastfeeding at all?

Past generations viewed breastfeeding as an outdated method of feeding newborns and infants. They believed that manufactured baby formula was the ultimate invention for convenience and nutrition.

Feeding the baby store-bought formula seemed to be liberating and on the cutting edge of modern life. Why should a mother offer her baby a breast to feed when scientifically formulated, manufactured foods were specially designed for that purpose?

In the 1960s, it was not unusual for a mother to make the choice not to breastfeed her baby. Formula seemed to be the better choice.

During that decade, methadone maintenance grew as a prominent new medical treatment for opioid addiction. A mother with a heroin addiction could get treatment to stop heroin. Yet, early on, doctors likely played it safe, recommending formula over breastfeeding.

Since that time, the public has come to accept and understand that breastfeeding has many benefits for both baby and mother. The baby develops a better, stronger immune system, and a healthier weight, due to better nutrition.

The mother also benefits, by losing postpartum weight more easily, and bonding more effectively with her child. There are many more advantages to both mother and child. And fortunately, doctors are now able to recommend, without hesitation, that breastfeeding is safe on medication-assist treatment with Suboxone.

Breastfeeding on Suboxone is safe, and the concern for the baby developing withdrawal symptoms or opioid dependence is miniscule. Pregnant women may continue buprenorphine therapy with little worry over Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. And women who breastfeed, may continue Suboxone treatment without concern, if they are under the supervision of a doctor who has cleared them for continuing this life-saving medical therapy.

If you are looking for a Suboxone clinic in Fort Lauderdale that has experience treating women who are either pregnant or breastfeeding, please contact us.