Medication for treating inflammatory rheumatic disorders during breastfeeding

Inflammatory rheumatic disorders is the name given to a series of autoimmune diseases that are often long-term in nature. The inflammation predominantly occurs in the musculoskeletal system, although it may also affect other organs such as the heart and kidneys. The common symptoms of these disorders include joint pain and restricted movement. Non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, fever or weight loss can also occur. During breastfeeding, it is generally safe to use medication to treat inflammatory rheumatic disorders.

Patients need to be careful when using medication to treat inflammatory rheumatic disorders while breastfeeding because not all medicines are safe for breastfeeding mothers to take.

Causes of inflammatory rheumatic disorders

There are a number of inflammatory rheumatic disorders:

• Inflammatory joint disorders, e.g. rheumatoid arthritis - Inflammatory disorders of the spine and individual joints, e.g. ankylosing spondylitis
• Inflammatory rheumatic disorders of the blood vessels and connective tissue, e.g. systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

The causes of most inflammatory rheumatic disorders are unclear.

Medication for treating inflammatory rheumatic disorders during breastfeeding

Inflammatory rheumatic disorders can continue to be treated using medication during breastfeeding. Inflammatory rheumatic disorders can be treated using a range of different medications or active ingredients. You may have questions about how safe these medications are while breastfeeding:

• Ibuprofen (Aktren, Dolormin, Dismenol), acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin, Dolomo, Neuralgin, Godamed, Melabon, Excedrin Kopfschmerz und Migräne Headache and Migraine, Alka-Seltzer), ketoprofen (Gabrilen), naproxen (Dolormin, Naproxen InfectoPharm), diclofenac (Voltaren, Flector), oxaceprol (AHP 200 Filmtabletten film-coated tablets), aceclofenac (Beofenac), meloxicam (Mobec), nabumetone (Relifex), felbinac (ThermaCare Schmerzgel pain gel), acemetacin (Ziloxicum)
• Prednisolone (Decortin H tablets), methylprednisolone (Metypred Galen tablets)
• Methotrexate (Methotrexat Mundipharma), leflunomide (Arava tablets), hydroxychloroquine (Quensyl), sulfasalazine (Azulfidine, Pleon RA), azathioprine (Imurek), ciclosporin (Immunosporin, Sandimmun), mycophenolate (CellCept, Mowel, Myfenax)
• Adalimumab (Humira, Amgevita, Hulio, Hyrimoz, Idacio, Imraldi, Yuflyma), certolizumab (Cimzia), etanercept (Benepali, Enbrel, Erelzi, Nepexto), golimumab (Simponi), infliximab (Flixabi, Inflectra, Remicade, Remsima, Zessly), rituximab (MabThera, Rixathon, Ruxience) 
• Cyclophosphamide (Endoxan)

Risks of medication for treating inflammatory rheumatic disorders during breastfeeding

Taking medication to treat inflammatory rheumatic disorders while breastfeeding may cause various side effects, such as infections, blood disorders (e.g. leukopenia), nausea and diarrhoea. It is extremely important to choose the right medication to treat inflammatory rheumatic disorders while breastfeeding because for some medicines, such as leflunomide, there is no data surrounding whether they may be passed on to the baby through breast milk. There are, however, medicines that can be taken while breastfeeding, making them the preferred treatment option.  

Find out whether your medication for treating your inflammatory rheumatic disorder is safe while you are breastfeeding

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