The Food and Drug Administration yesterday warned nursing mothers who are taking the painkiller codeine to be vigilant for unusual drowsiness or other signs of overdose in their babies, because a significant fraction of women carry a gene that leads to high concentrations of narcotic substances in their breast milk.
The warning is not meant to discourage women who are prescribed codeine from breast-feeding. But it should spur them to contact their doctors if they or their babies seem overly sleepy while taking usual doses of the painkiller, an agency official said.
Washington Post August 17, 2007