Which ones are allowed?

Initially, it can be assumed that almost all drugs pass into breast milk at a certain percentage. However, the size of this percentage and the damage that the active ingredient can cause in the child varies greatly. On some websites, doctors or pregnant and nursing women can obtain information about specific medications themselves.

During the breastfeeding period, as during pregnancy, use is made of well-known drugs for which no cases of side effects in the infant have been reported to date. For this reason these drugs are considered to be harmless. However, controlled studies during pregnancy and lactation only exist for very few drugs.

Paracetamol is a pain and fever-reducing drug that can be used for mild to moderate pain. It is one of the most widely prescribed drugs and is freely available in pharmacies even without a prescription. In general, however, it should be pointed out that so-called “over-the-counter” drugs, which can be bought without a prescription at the pharmacy, are by no means harmless, neither for the mother nor for the breastfed child.

However, the wealth of experience in the use of paracetamol is high, so that studies have shown that paracetamol has no negative effect on the infant during the breastfeeding period. However, the maximum daily dose should be respected, especially with regard to the nursing mother, as an overdose of paracetamol can cause life-threatening liver failure. In the correct dosage, however, it is the drug of choice for treatment of moderate pain and fever (e.g. headache, abdominal pain, febrile infections) during breastfeeding and also during all three trimesters of pregnancy.

Ibuprofen belongs (like Diclofenac/Voltaren®) to the group of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Like paracetamol, it is effective against fever (antipyretic), against pain (analgesic) and, unlike paracetamol, additionally against inflammation. Common areas of application are headaches, back pain and rheumatism.Ibuprofen is beside Paracetamol likewise means of the choice with medium strong pain, fever and inflammatory pain as with the rheumatism in the lactation period (naturally considering the daily maximum dose).