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Today, 22 November 2009

› SACP attacks Malema

› Meteor 'flash' in Gauteng

› Malema attack 'racist'

› Govt settles with Pikoli

› Will cops play brokers?

Yesterday, 21 November 2009

› SACP attacks Malema

› Match-fixing stuns Europe

› JZ hails Miss World effect

› Henry offers replay

› No armchair ride for Boks

Question

My friend has taken Ecstasy while breastfeeding her six-month-old baby. What are the dangers of this? How long does the pill stay in one's system?

Answer

I don't think anyone knows the long-term effects of Ecstasy. There is concern that the use of this drug might lead — later in life — to bouts of incurable depression. The short-term effects, except in those people who are sensitive to the drug, seem relatively mild and problems are often due to other things such as drinking too much water, overheating, dehydration etc. There are many "scare stories" around about E, yet many people are using the drug without suffering ill effects (at least for now) and it probably doesn't help to try to pretend otherwise. But of course those are healthy adults or young adults, while a small baby whose brain is still developing (the majority of postnatal brain growth occurs in the first year) is a very different story.

In general, it is not advisable to take any drug, even legal medicines, while breast-feeding as most chemicals you swallow will get into the milk. A doctor's advice should always be taken before you take any drug or even diet supplement. Ecstasy does not seem to stay in the body long (though it's broken down, forms or "metabolites" might), but during the time when it is circulating in the blood, milk is constantly being produced and stored. So the baby is definitely going to get some.

Would she give E to her baby in pill form? If not, why give it in milk form? But on the other hand, if she's taking the trouble to breast feed (and I wonder why she's doing that, if not because it's supposed to be best for her baby), she probably knows already that she didn't do a good thing by taking E and feeding it to her baby in the milk. To help, we must deal with reality and not get into big "guilt trips".

So that leaves us with the important question of what is really going on with her and how best to help her change, if she agrees there's a need to change. Could the problem be denial around the drug abuse? If she has a problem with addiction or not being able to say no to E, that needs to be sorted out. It would otherwise be better to stop breastfeeding her baby.

Breast is only best if it doesn't involve sharing your dangerous drug habits with your small, vulnerable baby.