Is It Ok to Do Fraxel Co2 While I'm Breast Feeding?

Dear New Mom,

We are often times asked whether it is okay to have Fraxel repair CO2 while breast feeding.  As long as the baby is not attached to your breast at the time it would be okay, but you would have to have the procedure without any medications (not advisable), and you would likely scare the wits out of your innocent infant.  Like most medical procedures, there would likely be very little significant transfer of medications to your newborn, but in today's medical legal climate, you would be very hard pressed to find a reputable physician willing to do the treatment on you until you have weened your child from your breast.  In the meantime, use great skin care products and look forward to the day of your Fraxel repair CO2 skin rejuvenation.

 

Good luck and be well,

Dr. P

This depends greatly upon what, if anything, your surgeon is going to give you either orally or topically, or both.  I use a combination of oral pain and sedation medications, as well as a topical pain medication – all given preoperatively, and I would advise you to wait until  after you are finished breast feeding if you were having your Fraxel laser with me. 

Jonathan Ross Berman, M.D. , F.A.C.S.

Fraxel laser resurfacing requires topical anesthesia for patient comfort. All anesthesia will be absorbed into the blood, and therefore into the breast milk.  Also, waiting may make sense as well, to allow your hormones to normalize after breast feeding.

I would highly recommend you hold off on any elective procedures until you are done with breastfeeding completely.  No one does scientific studies on pregnant women nor breastfeeding women for ethical reasons so it is just not worth risking the health of your child.

Hope this helps.  Good luck.

 

Dr. Grant Stevens