Picking out pregnancy-safe skincare can seem complicated. I have an entire page on pregnancy beauty dedicated to which skincare ingredients to avoid during pregnancy, breastfeeding, or IVF.
Today is about the use of Rogaine while breastfeeding, and if you are one of the moms suffering from postpartum hair loss, minoxidil, more popularly known as Rogaine, may have come under your radar as a treatment option. Or maybe you were already on it before you got pregnant and are wondering if you can go back to it now that the baby is here?
So, can you use Rogaine while breastfeeding?
As a breastfeeding mom, many medications that you take, whether in a pill form or as a topical preparation, can be excreted into your breast milk and passed on to your baby.
Minoxidil is no exception, being found in small amounts in breast milk.
Minoxidil is used both in oral and topical forms for hair loss (although the oral form is not FDA-approved) and is contraindicated while pregnant. Let us read to see if it is the same while nursing.
Can you use Rogaine while breastfeeding?
Important note: Oral minoxidil is not FDA-approved for treating hair loss, although it might be available off-label depending on your treating doctor. Unless specified, the information in my post relates mainly to topical minoxidil and not to the oral version.
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Effect of minoxidil on baby while breastfeeding.
As with most chemicals, we do not have experimental studies on the effect of the use of maternal minoxidil on breastfed infants.
What we have are a few case reports in the literature:
- A 4-week preterm breastfed infant developed an overgrowth of facial hair while the mother was using topical 5% minoxidil every day. Once it was discontinued, the infant lost the excess hair.
- A 37-week early-term infant was born to a woman who was on 5mg oral minoxidil for hypertension throughout pregnancy and for 2 months postpartum- no side effects that could be linked to minoxidil were found in the infant.*
*This report is in contradiction with other published reports that have found positive association between the use of oral minoxidil and congenital fetal abnormalities (Kaler et al. and Rosa et al.)
Does minoxidil affect milk supply?
There is not enough information on whether oral or topical minoxidil use affects milk supply. I recommend consulting your treating doctor or an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) for any breastfeeding-related issues.
Here is a post I wrote about how I increased my milk supply:
Finding Lactation Cookies- Aussies Bites from Costco.
Minoxidil might be safe while breastfeeding.
Can you use minoxidil while breastfeeding?
The risk of using minoxidil while nursing is generally anticipated to be low, and although it is not entirely contraindicated, caution is advised.
It likely poses a low risk to older, full-term breastfeeding infants and is best avoided while nursing a preterm or a neonatal infant as the ability of the infant to absorb, detoxify, and excrete a drug at this stage is not fully developed (NML)
It is always prudent to consult with your treating doctor before you start any medication or beauty regime, as they can offer you the optimal treatment based on your current status and medical history.
How to use minoxidil safely while breastfeeding.
Here are some handy tips that will help reduce the amount of minoxidil that can be transferred from your breast milk to the baby:
- Use topical minoxidil where possible, as topical formulations lead to lower drug concentrations in mothers’ milk.
- Breastfeed the baby immediately before the dose of minoxidil if using it multiple times.
- If using it once, use it just before the longest sleep interval, usually after bedtime feeding.
Takeaway
Can you use minoxidil while breastfeeding? Perhaps! Topical minoxidil may be safe while nursing older, full-term infants. To reduce the exposure in breastmilk, feed the baby immediately before use if using multiple times, or feed the baby immediately before the longest sleep interval if using once.
