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When should a mother avoid breastfeeding?

picture of a woman and a babyHealth professionals agree that human milk provides the most complete form of nutrition for infants, including premature and sick newborns. However, there are rare exceptions when human milk is not recommended. Under certain circumstances, a physician will need to make a case-by-case assessment to determine whether a woman’s environmental exposure or her own medical condition warrants her to interrupt or stop breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is NOT advisable if one or more of the following conditions is true:

  1. An infant diagnosed with galactosemia, a rare genetic metabolic disorder

  2. The infant whose mother:

    • Has been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

    • Is taking antiretroviral medications

    • Has untreated, active tuberculosis

    • Is infected with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I or type II

    • Is using or is dependent upon an illicit drug

    • Is taking prescribed cancer chemotherapy agents, such as antimetabolites that interfere with DNA replication and cell division

    • Is undergoing radiation therapies; however, such nuclear medicine therapies require only a temporary interruption in breastfeeding

For additional information, visit American Academy of Pediatrics' Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk* or read: American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs. (2001) The transfer of drugs and other chemicals into human milk. Pediatrics 108:776-789. Available online at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/108/3/776*

For information regarding substances and conditions which affect human milk, read Lawrence RA, Lawrence R. (2005) Breastfeeding: A guide for the medical professional, 6th Edition. St. Louis: Mosby.

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* Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.

Page last reviewed: May 22, 2007
Page last updated: May 22, 2007
Content Source: Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion