Exact Answer: 3 to 4 Hours
Cipro, more popularly known as Ciprofloxacin, is an antibiotic medication that belongs to the group of fluoroquinolones. It is mainly used to treat serious level infections in the body.
Some of the infections for which Ciprofloxacin is used are pneumonia, bone infections, eye infections, sexually transmitted infections, etc.
The medicine is only available on prescription and people need to visit a doctor before getting on with it. It has various forms like tablets, eye drops, ear drops, drinking liquid, etc. There is also an injection form of the medicine, however, it is only used in hospitals. It includes some side effects, but the most common of these side effects is diarrhea and feeling of vomiting.
How Long After Cipro Can I Breastfeed?
As Cipro is given only o medication, there are high chances that the breastfeeding mother has consulted her doctor before starting the medication. And would only be allowed if it is good and safe for them.
Most studies have shown that Cipro does not have an effect on the breastmilk and hence, the mother can start breastfeeding after 3 to 4 hours of taking Cipro. The majority of the medicines that the person takes would be present in the breastmilk, but the amount is much less than the amount of medicine present in the bloodstream, hence, there is not a vital risk to the infant.
Breastfeeding is considered the best way to provide nutrition to newborn babies. However, different antibiotics have different effects on babies, depending upon the strength of the baby, too. Generally, premature babies possess a higher risk of being affected by the medicines than babies who were born healthy and with the right weight.
There is a list of medicines combined which are safe for administration for breastfeeding women and those which are not. The medicines safe for breastfeeding women include Amoxycillin, Macrolides, etc. Whereas the medicines which are not safe for breastfeeding women include Quinolones, and Dapsone which should be used with caution, etc.
However, the side effects of these medicines are not reported or administered, and hence, they should be taken with caution. Although there are other medicinal drugs like Acyclovir and Valacyclovir which are considered compatible for breastfeeding women which do not possess necessarily harmful effects.
| Condition | Medicines |
| Safe For Breastfeeding Women | Amoxycillin, Macrolides |
| Not Safe For Breastfeeding Women | Quinolones |
Why Can I Breastfeed 3-4 Hours After Taking Cipro?
The reason why breastfeeding milk can get infected with antibiotics is because of the similarity of milk components to that of the plasma components. The significant side-effects the infants who are being breastfed can be exposed to are diarrhea or malabsorption of the nutrients.
However, there are some ways in which it can be monitored if the antibiotics are necessary or would possess a threat to the baby. Firstly, the doctor should have a confident stance if the antibiotic is needed for the pregnant women, if not they can use some variants for the same.
Another step could be to suggest some antibiotics which do not get absorbed into the bloodstream as much, so the level of the medicine in the breastfeeding milk would get even lower, which would cut off any potential threat to the infant. Further, a gap period could be enforced on breastfeeding when the slow of the medicine in the body is at its peak, like in the case of Cipro, women can breastfeed after 3 to four hours of taking the medicine.
In some cases where taking antibiotics is unavoidable and the baby is premature, the breast milk can be stored in a bottle before taking the medicine and the infant can be fed through the bottle which would not stagger both the patients.
Further, the infant who is being breastfed should be closely monitored for any side effects like diarrhea or other weaknesses in the body so that it can be tackled within the time being and the baby is safe.
Conclusion
Cipro, which is also popularly known as Ciprofloxacin, is an antibiotic medication that is used to cure serious level infections like eye infections, bone infections, pneumonia, and also sexually transmitted infections. The medicine is only available on prescription and has different forms like a liquid drink, tablets, eye, and ear drops, etc. There is also a variant of injection but it is only used in hospitals.
If the medicine is being taken by a woman who is breastfeeding, there is a high chance that it would be present in small amounts in the milk, but the woman can breastfeed after 3 to 4 hours of taking the medicine as by then the flow of the drug would be reduced in the bloodstream.