Breastfeeding: Questions to ask

Last updated: Monday, December 11, 2023

You'll usually have to seek more information about a patient and her medicines before answering a clinical question about use of medicines in breastfeeding. There are some general questions to ask when problem solving, but what do you need to ask that's specific to patients who are breastfeeding?

What questions would you ask if a doctor from outpatients wanted advice about using a medicine in a mother who was breastfeeding? 

What would you want to establish about the medicine(s) involved, the mother, and her infant? How do you ensure any advice you give is actioned?


When you've had time to consider, look at the infographic below which suggests some significant questions that you ought to have in mind. 



On the next page you can see a brief explanation as to why these questions can be important in practice.