Summary of Use during Lactation

No information is available on the use of bethanechol during breastfeeding. If it is used during breastfeeding, monitor the infant for signs of cholinergic excess (diarrhea, lacrimation, and excessive salivation or urination), especially in younger, exclusively breastfed infants.

Drug Levels

Maternal Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.

Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.

Effects in Breastfed Infants

Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.

Effects on Lactation and Breastmilk

Relevant published information in nursing mothers was not found as of the revision date. In animals, cholinergic drugs increase oxytocin release, and have variable effects on serum prolactin.[1,2] The prolactin level in a mother with established lactation may not affect her ability to breastfeed.

References

1.

Clarke G, Fall CH, Lincoln DW, et al. Effects of cholinoceptor antagonists on the suckling-induced and experimentally evoked release of oxytocin. Br J Pharmacol. 1978;63:519–27. [PMC free article: PMC1668097] [PubMed: 566601]

2.

Müller EE, Locatelli V, Cella S, et al. Prolactin-lowering and -releasing drugs: Mechanisms of action and therapeutic applications. Drugs. 1983;25:399–432. [PubMed: 6133737]

Substance Name

Bethanechol

CAS Registry Number

674-38-4

Drug Class

Breast Feeding

Lactation

Muscarinic Agonists

Parasympathomimetics