Which antimalarial drugs can be taken by breastfeeding women?
A. Breastfeeding women should not take doxycycline or atovaquone / proguanil (Malarone?). Chloroquine plus proguanil can be used during breastfeeding although this combination provides suboptimal protection for the mother in areas of chloroquine resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria. There is little data on the use of mefloquine during breastfeeding (see Breastfeeding section in chapter 6 of the ACMP guidelines). Although mefloquine is excreted in breast milk in small amounts there is not enough data to draw conclusions regarding potential harmful effects on the infant. Mefloquine may be considered for breastfeeding mothers travelling to areas of chloroquine resistant P. falciparum. Each traveller should be assessed individually, weighing the potential risks and benefits of taking mefloquine whilst breastfeeding, and taking into consideration the risk of malaria at the destination. The small amounts of antimalarials that pass into breast milk, are not enough to protect the baby. Brea
