Breastfeeding and Minoxidil
Safety of minoxidil cannot be guaranteed during breastfeeding. There may be some side effects in a newborn baby.
Oral minoxidil cannot be recommended for a nursing mother who is breastfeeding a baby.
5-10 mg minoxidil tablet will result in increased level of minoxidil in milk, which may not be safe for a baby.
Oral minoxidil should definitely be avoided during lactation.
Topical minoxidil can be considered to pose a low risk on a breastfed newborn. However, topical minoxidil is absorbed from the skin, enters into blood circulation, and reaches the whole body in a mother.
Small amount of minoxidil may be excreted into milk, which might result in some side effects such as thickening of scalp and body hair of a newborn. Thick hair of a baby will become normal after stopping breastfeeding.
However, drug metabolism and detoxification in the liver is incomplete in a neonate. Endurance and susceptibility to a drug in a neonate is different form that in an adult.
Safety of minoxidil is not guaranteed in a newborn.
You might want to stop topical minoxidil during lactation. You can resume topical minoxidil after weaning the baby.
