A few women experience insomnia after pregnancy and may require medical intervention. Considering the importance of good sleep, your doctor may prescribe you to take Zolpidem or Ambien during breastfeeding. Zolpidem is a sedative sold under the name Ambien. It is used to treat short-term sleep issues in adults. However, if you’re asked to take Ambien during nursing, its sedative properties may concern you, and you may be worried that it may impact the wellness of your baby. Keep reading this post as we talk about Ambien, its side effects, dosage, tolerance, and withdrawal during breastfeeding.

Why Ambien While Breastfeeding?

Ambien is a sleep-inducing agent. Although the drug does not help maintain sleep, it is an effective sleep-initiating agent. Ambien has anticonvulsant and relaxant properties that help induce sleep. However, an overdose of Ambien can lead to potentially harmful side effects like hallucinations and amnesia. Ambien rarely affects breastfeeding women negatively. Doctors typically prescribe a 2-6 week course of the tablets to help treat insomnia in women. Ambien is the safest sleep-inducing agent for lactating moms.

Side Effects Of Ambien While Nursing

Ambien can lead to many side effects, which include:

Sleep eating syndrome

A headache and withdrawal

Nausea

Dizziness

Hallucinations

Difficulty in maintaining balance

Sleepwalking in rare cases

Might impair driving skills and lead to road accidents.

If you are a breastfeeding mom who likes to drive, avoid doing so if you are on Ambien.

An overdose might increase the risk of falling and induce cognitive defects (1).

There are many instances where moms stop breastfeeding their infants because they are taking Ambien medication. Breastfeeding is not only a beautiful experience for you, but for your little one as well. Breast milk is the safest milk for an infant. It protects the infant from many diseases. Most medicines are safe during breastfeeding, only a few have adverse effects. You don’t have to stop breastfeeding your infant in most cases.

The recommended dose of Ambien is 5-10 mg. Any overdose may induce breathing problems or irregular heartbeat. You might need to see the doctor if you feel dizzy. If you have a tendency to sleepwalk, make sure you avoid using Ambien. Studies say at 70mg the effects of Ambien can get worse. Make sure that you swallow the pill and not ingest it in any other way.

Tolerance And Withdrawal

When you develop drug tolerance, doctors typically resort to dose reduction over a few months to help ease you back to normal and minimize the withdrawal symptoms.

Is Ambien Safe During Breastfeeding?

Ambien provides considerable relief for moms who suffer from irregular sleeping patterns. While the effect of Ambien in breastmilk and on the breastfed baby are not well studied, Ambien has a short half life and amounts ingested by the infant are typically small and would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in older breastfed infants. If you are prescribed Ambien, discuss breastfeeding with your doctor. While taking Ambien during breastfeeding, monitor the baby for excessive sleepiness, decreased muscle tone and any slowdown or changes to breathing. You need sufficient rest to take care of the infant and produce breast milk. Sleepless nights can trigger irritation, mood swings, anxiety and poor decision making.. Sleep is crucial, as it helps repair the blood vessels and heart. Sleep deficiency can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart diseases, diabetes and even stroke. The amount of sleep each breastfeeding mother needs varies but eight hours of sleep is considered the goal. As you will go through many emotional and physical changes after pregnancy, you need to rest well so that you can adapt to these changes easily.