UW researchers release new tool to help determine what medication is safe to take while breastfeeding

It’s a question anyone who breastfeeds has, what is and isn’t safe to consume? Especially when it comes to medication.

As we wrap up World Breastfeeding Week, a week designed to generate public awareness and support for breastfeeding, University of Waterloo researchers are doing just that.

Members of the School of Pharmacy are releasing more details on a new tool designed to help breastfeeding women and nursing persons.

The tool is called the Upper Area Under the Curve Ratio metric or UAR metric. It essentially uses a math-based modelling system to determine whether or not a medication is safe for a lactating person to take.

The team from the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy says they can simulate a virtual person and see how a drug moves through their body.

Dr. Cindy Yeung is the lead author of a paper detailing the research and a recent PhD graduate.

She notes, “The UAR metric uses an estimated drug dose from breastmilk that is then given to virtual infants to assess likely drug exposures and to identify characteristics of those infants that may be at increased risk to high exposures. This brings researchers one step closer to understanding the response or the adverse effects you might see in infants.”

The team goes on to say, nursing parents are often left out of scientific research completely.

“The limited information on medication use during lactation has created a significant knowledge gap that directly impacts a vulnerable population due to the exclusion of lactating persons and infants from the drug development process.”

Yeung adds this new process will help healthcare providers when it comes to advising medication for their lactating patients.

The study was recently published in the Frontiers in Pediatrics journal.