Is CBD safe while breastfeeding?

What does the evidence say about CBD while breastfeeding?

1. Professional guidelines recommend that cannabis use, including CBD, should be avoided by nursing mothers, and nursing mothers should be informed of possible adverse effects on infant development from exposure to cannabis compounds in breastmilk. 1
2. Cannabidiol has been measured in breastmilk at a median concentration of 5 mcg per liter among cannabis-using mothers, and no published research has looked specifically at effects on breastfed infants. 2
3. For the one FDA-approved cannabidiol medication, used for certain seizure disorders, the lactation database suggests an alternate drug may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant, given the lack of published safety data. 2
4. Over-the-counter CBD products may contain more or less CBD than their label states, and because of less rigorous regulatory oversight than prescription drugs, they may also contain contaminants such as THC. 3
5. A lab analysis of 202 commercially available CBD products found only 26% accurately matched their labeled potency, with the rest exceeding or falling short of the stated amount, and detectable heavy metals, pesticides, or residual solvents in a notable share of samples. 4

How CBD changes by nursing stage

• Early weeks. In the early weeks of breastfeeding, avoiding CBD is especially important since there's no published research on how it affects a newborn, and this is when infants are most vulnerable to unknown exposures.
• Established nursing. As breastfeeding continues, the same lack of infant safety data and product-quality concerns still apply. If you're using CBD for a specific health reason, ask your provider about better-studied alternatives instead of assuming a wellness-marketed product is low-risk.
• Weaning. Later in breastfeeding, the same considerations still apply if CBD use comes up again: the lack of regulation means potency and purity vary a lot between brands, and there's still no published data on infant effects. This is worth discussing directly with your provider rather than assuming a wellness-marketed product is automatically low-risk.