Breastfeeding

If you take anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) and you want to breastfeed, it is important to be aware that AEDs can pass into your breast milk, which would then pass to your baby. For this reason, it is advisable to discuss breastfeeding with a medical adviser who has access to information about AEDs, before your baby is born. This may be an epilepsy specialist, epilepsy nurse, a midwife with an interest in epilepsy or an infant feeding adviser.

Generally speaking, mothers who take AEDs are encouraged to breastfeed.

The majority of AEDs, which pass into your breast milk in small amounts, may have very little effect on your baby, so there is no reason why you can’t breastfeed while taking them. Rarely AEDs may cause problems for your baby, such as excessive sleepiness (which may lead to difficulties in feeding) or allergic skin reactions.

When you decide whether or not you want to breastfeed, you will need to consider the benefits that are associated with this, and the risks that are associated with the AEDs that you are taking.

If you would like to discuss breastfeeding and specific anti-epileptic drugs, please contact the Epilepsy Helpline, freephone 0808 800 5050.

If you do breastfeed, your night-time sleep will be broken regularly. If lack of sleep is a trigger for your seizures, you may need to arrange for someone else to give expressed breast milk or formula night feeds by bottle. Another solution would be for a friend or family member to give you a daytime break, so that you can catch up on missed sleep.

When you are feeding your baby, you could sit on the floor on a towel or a rug, so that if you have a seizure the baby does not have far to fall.

In the UK, some parents with epilepsy may be entitled to Disability Living Allowance to pay towards a helper while their baby is very young.

• More information about Disability Living Allowance

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