Domperidone Side Effects on a Baby

Domperidone, also known as Motilium, is a drug that has the side effect of increasing breast milk production. This drug generally causes very mild side effects in the mother, and many doctors theorized that a baby was receiving so little of the Domperidone that it wasn't dangerous. However, the FDA has released a warning about the drug and potential side effects. Domperidone is also not approved for this purpose in the United States and Canada or any other country, although it is approved for the treatment of gastric disorders in several countries.

Chances of Side Effects

Very rarely are there side effects in babies resulting from the use of Domperidone. Babies receive very little of the medicine in the milk they drink. This dynamic is changed a little bit if the medication is being used to help with intestinal issues.

Cardiac Side Effects

Domperidone can cause serious cardiac problems, such as arrhythmias, cardiac arrest and sudden death when administered intravenously. However, no arrhythmias or deaths have been reported when this drug was used by the healthy population. The adverse effects were seen in unhealthy patients who were receiving high doses of the medication.

Mother's Side Effects

Mothers uncommonly report dry mouth, abdominal cramps and headaches that generally go away when the dosage of the medication is decreased.

Other Uses of the Medication

Other than using the side effect to increase milk production, Domperidone is generally used to treat disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. It can be used to help infants who spit up and lose too much weight. Domperidone was replaced by Cisapride, which has been taken off the market. Cisapride could also cause serious cardiac problems, but it is not in the same drug family of Domperidone.

Side Effects from Long Term Use

In literature released by the manufacturer of Domperidone, long-term, chronic treatment with Domperidone can cause increased numbers of breast tumors in the rodents used to test the medication. This effect has never been documented in humans, however. There seems to be no side effects for babies either; however, this is not an FDA-approved use of the drug, so there may be some unknown side effects because of the lack of proper testing.

Other Information

Domperidone should only be used to treat milk production issues in certain cases, and should never be the first approach to the problems. Domperidone is generally thought to be a better treatment for milk-production issues by various doctors because it has fewer side effects than other medications, mainly because it does not enter the tissue in the brain in any significat amounts.