Can you take tafenoquine 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.
No information is available on the use of tafenoquine during breastfeeding. The amounts in milk are acceptable if the infant is not glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficient, but tafenoquine can cause hemolysis in patients with G6PD deficiency. If tafenoquine is needed by the mother, testing the mother and infant for G6PD deficiency is required before the drug is given. Because the half-life of tafenoquine averages 15 days, the manufacturer recommends that breastfeeding should not breastfeed for 3 months after the dose if the infant is G6PD deficient, which implies complete cessation of nursing.
Quoted from Tafenoquine — Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed®), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, revised January 15, 2026.
What LactMed would consider instead
LactMed ends this record by naming the drugs it would consider in place of tafenoquine. Whether any of them fits depends on what you are treating — this is the database’s list, not a recommendation from us.
- Primaquine
How much tafenoquine gets into breastmilk
Maternal Levels. Six healthy lactating women with a median weight of 51 kg and infants at least one year old who were planning to stop breastfeeding were given a single dose of 300 mg (6 mg/kg) of tafenoquine. Women had breastmilk samples collected during 5 sampling windows after the dose: 8 to 15 hours, 16 to 24 hours, 30 to 42 hours, 6 to 8 days, and 12 to 16 days. The median peak concentration in breastmilk occurred at a median of 16 hours (range 12 to 36 hours), with a median peak concentration of 308 mcg/L. The authors estimated the median maximum cumulative exposure over the 75 days after a dose to be 0.51 mg/kg, or 8.5% of the maternal dose. Most of the exposure is expected to be in the first week. The authors compared their result to a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model that was previously published that had two very different scenarios depending on how the milk-to-plasma ratio (M/P) was calculated. Results of the clinical study were more consistent with the log-transformed method of M/P calculation.
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 was not found as of the revision date.
Frequently asked questions
Can you take tafenoquine while breastfeeding?
No information is available on the use of tafenoquine during breastfeeding. 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 tafenoquine while breastfeeding?
LactMed lists Primaquine 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 tafenoquine pass into breastmilk?
LactMed's measured drug levels for tafenoquine are quoted in full on this page, under "How much gets into breastmilk".
Do I need to pump and dump after taking tafenoquine?
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 tafenoquine
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.