Can you take meprobamate 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.
Because there is little published experience with meprobamate during breastfeeding, other agents may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant, or when other drugs that can cause sedation are used simultaneously. If meprobamate is required by the mother, it is not necessarily a reason to discontinue breastfeeding. Monitor the infant for sedation, poor feeding and poor weight gain.
Quoted from Meprobamate — Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed®), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, revised April 15, 2026.
What LactMed would consider instead
LactMed ends this record by naming the drugs it would consider in place of meprobamate. Whether any of them fits depends on what you are treating — this is the database’s list, not a recommendation from us.
How much meprobamate gets into breastmilk
Maternal Levels. One author reported a personal communication from the manufacturer. The manufacturer reports that 6 lactating women who were given a single 800 mg oral dose of meprobamate had peak milk meprobamate concentrations 4 hours after the dose.
The muscle relaxant carisoprodol is metabolized to meprobamate. A mother taking carisoprodol 700 mg three times daily during pregnancy and lactation had trough breastmilk levels of carisoprodol and meprobamate measured before the first morning dose on 4 consecutive days at steady-state (time postpartum not stated). Average minimum breastmilk levels were 0.9 mg/L for carisoprodol and 11.6 mg/L for meprobamate. The authors calculated that the minimum infant dose of the drug plus metabolite was 1.9 mg/kg daily or 4.1% of the maternal weight-adjusted dosage. Extrapolating these results to an average (rather than minimum) dose, the authors estimated that an exclusively breastfed infant would receive 3 mg/kg daily or 6% of the maternal weight-adjusted dosage.
A woman who was suspected to have been abusing carisoprodol had the drug and meprobamate detectable in breastmilk for 2 consecutive days after hospitalization; only meprobamate was detectable on day 3.
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
One paper reported that some psychiatric patients receiving meprobamate alone or in combination with other psychotropic drugs developed galactorrhea. Further details of meprobamate use were not reported.
Frequently asked questions
Can you take meprobamate while breastfeeding?
What the NIH's Drugs and Lactation Database says about Meprobamate 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.
What can I take instead of meprobamate while breastfeeding?
LactMed lists Lorazepam, Oxazepam as alternate drugs to consider. That is the database's own list for this drug — whether any of them suits you depends on what you are treating.
Does meprobamate pass into breastmilk?
LactMed's measured drug levels for meprobamate are quoted in full on this page, under "How much gets into breastmilk".
Do I need to pump and dump after taking meprobamate?
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 meprobamate
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.