Can you take doxazosin while breastfeeding?
What LactMed says
The National Library of Medicine’s own summary, quoted in full. We do not write a verdict of our own on this question, and we do not compress theirs into a label.
Limited information indicates that maternal doses of 4 mg daily produce low very levels in milk and would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants.
Quoted from Doxazosin — Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed®), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, revised December 15, 2024.
How much doxazosin gets into breastmilk
Maternal Levels. A woman who was nursing a 6-month-old infant received 2 doses of doxazosin 4 mg 24 hours apart. Four milk samples were obtained after the second dose. A peak milk level of 4.2 mcg/L occurred at 1 hour after the dose. The average concentration over the 18-hour study period was 2.9 mcg/L. The authors estimated that a fully breastfed infant would receive an average daily dosage of 440 ng/kg daily or about 0.6% of the maternal weight-adjusted dosage.
A woman with pheochromocytoma during pregnancy was treated near term with doxazosin and metoprolol. She continued doxazosin for 3 days postpartum until adrenal surgery. Thirty hours after her last dose of 8 mg of doxazosin, the drug was undetectable (<25 mcg/L) in her breastmilk.
Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
What has been seen in breastfed infants
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Effects on milk supply
Relevant published information in nursing mothers was not found as of the revision date. However, the pharmacologically similar drug prazosin does not affect serum prolactin concentration in patients with hypertension, indicating that doxazosin may not affect prolactin levels. The prolactin level in a mother with established lactation may not affect her ability to breastfeed.
Frequently asked questions
Can you take doxazosin while breastfeeding?
What the NIH's Drugs and Lactation Database says about Doxazosin while breastfeeding — quoted in full. The full record is quoted on this page, and the decision is one to make with the person who prescribed it — LactMed itself states it is not a substitute for professional judgement.
Does doxazosin pass into breastmilk?
LactMed's measured drug levels for doxazosin are quoted in full on this page, under "How much gets into breastmilk".
Do I need to pump and dump after taking doxazosin?
LactMed does not frame its records that way — it reports measured drug levels in milk and what has been observed in breastfed infants, which is what this page quotes. "Pump and dump" advice for a specific drug and dose should come from your clinician or a pharmacist, not from a general rule.
More on doxazosin
LactMed states that the information it presents is not a substitute for professional judgement, and that you should consult your healthcare provider for breastfeeding advice related to your particular situation. Nothing on this page is medical advice.