Is CBD Oil Safe For Breastfeeding Mothers?

Having a baby equals sleepless nights, stress, hormonal shifts, and even postpartum depression. Add pain, fatigue, and mood disorders into a melting pot called ‘life after birth’ and you will see that being a new mom is not a walk in the park. Naturally, every woman wants to alleviate these side effects of motherhood, and drug therapy appears to be a welcome solution. CBD oil is especially tempting due to its naturalness and harmlessness. However, before trying it, every mother should ask herself a few simple questions: Is CBD oil safe for breastfeeding mothers? Is it possible to pass CBD with mother’s milk and harm a baby? There really is no easy answer to these questions – it is best to consult with a physician before taking the risk.

Scientific Evidence Regarding CBD Usage During Breastfeeding

It’s no secret that breast milk is sort of a conduit between the body of a mother and her baby. It provides a little one with all the vital nutrients. At the same time, milk can become a source of hazardous substances if a mother inadvertently takes them with food or by other means. You surely know that you can’t use alcohol, drugs, and some medications during breastfeeding because they may have a detrimental effect on infants. The question is whether CBD is on the list of goods new mothers should avoid.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to confidently say that CBD is safe for breastfeeding mothers and their children. To date, there is not much trustworthy research concerning the effects of cannabidiol on newborns. However, we can take into account studies examining the concentration of THC aka tetrahydrocannabinol (a compound similar to cannabidiol but, unlike it, providing a mind-altering effect) in breast milk.

An analysis of breast milk from women who regularly take THC showed that it contained approximately 2.5% of the administered dose. This means that their newborns were also exposed to psychoactive substances. The negative impact of THC on an infant’s health is in inhibition of brain development and weight loss. Because CBD is not an intoxicating compound, we can’t state that it affects babies in the same way. But one thing is for sure – if a nursing woman takes cannabidiol, her child takes it, too.

The tricky thing about cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol is that they linger in the body for quite some time. If you think that you can express some milk and feed it to your child until the substances in question leave your bloodstream, then you are wrong. Cannabis-derived compounds are found in blood (and milk, too) even a week after administration. You are unlikely to store up enough milk to make even a one-off CBD intake safe.

Risks of Using CBD While Nursing

While we don’t know for sure how CBD transferred with breast milk impacts babies, we can try to predict possible threats by extrapolating from the risks for individuals in generals. These risks include liver deterioration, extreme drowsiness, and incompatibility with certain medications. If using cannabidiol-rich products carelessly, these side effects may pose a threat to both a mother and a baby.

In addition, certain CBD oil products might fail to meet rigorous pediatric safety standards. For example, you may come across hemp-derived formulations with a high content of pesticides, heavy metals, and harmful microorganisms. Moreover, manufacturers do not always scrupulously adhere to the maximum allowable content of THC in CDB oil. The legal concentration can’t be higher than 0.3%; however, if a product exceeds this benchmark, a child might be exposed to the negative effects of tetrahydrocannabinol.

Does it Mean that Cannabidiol is Dangerous During Nursing?

It would be wrong to claim that hemp-derived products are harmful to babies. The research we mentioned above looked at the effects of marijuana and THC instead of hemp and CBD. We cannot lump THC and CBD together even though these compounds are relatively similar. At the very least, cannabidiol has no mind-altering properties.

Still, due to the lack of comprehensive information regarding the safety of cannabidiol, the medical community cannot recommend it for nursing mothers. The FDA has also expressed its opinion concerning the hemp-derived compound – it ’strongly advises against the use of cannabidiol (CBD), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and marijuana in any form during pregnancy or while breastfeeding ‘.

Summing up, when it comes to medications during nursing, it’s better to be safe than sorry. You must carefully weigh all the risks and consult with your doctor before you decide to take any medicine. Remember, you are responsible not only for your health, but also for the well-being of your baby.