Does my baby's health and age influence how he or she might be affected by exposure to medication in my breast milk?

Yes. Exposure to medication in breast milk poses the greatest risk to premature babies, newborns, and babies who are medically unstable or have poorly functioning kidneys.

The risk is lowest for healthy babies 6 months and older, who can move drugs through their bodies efficiently. Women who breast-feed more than one year after childbirth often make relatively smaller quantities of milk. This reduces the amount of medication transferred to breast milk. Also, medications used in the two days after childbirth transfer at very low levels to your infant due to the limited volume of breast milk you produce during this time.