Can you take tapentadol 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.

Maternal use of oral opioids during breastfeeding can cause infant drowsiness, which may progress to rare but severe central nervous system depression. Newborn infants seem to be particularly sensitive to the effects of even small dosages of narcotic analgesics. Little information is available on the use of tapentadol during breastfeeding. Because it has opioid agonist activity, an alternate drug is preferred, especially when nursing a newborn or preterm infant. Monitor infants for excess sedation and respiratory depression. If tapentadol is required by the mother of a newborn, it is not a reason to discontinue breastfeeding; however, once the mother's milk comes in, it is best to provide pain control with a nonnarcotic analgesic and limit maternal intake of oral tapentadol to 2 to 3 days at a low dose with close infant monitoring. If the baby shows signs of increased sleepiness (more than usual), difficulty breastfeeding, breathing difficulties, or limpness, a physician should be contacted immediately. Withdrawal symptoms can occur in breastfed infants when maternal administration of an opioid analgesic is stopped, or when breastfeeding is stopped.

Quoted from Tapentadol — Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed®), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, revised December 15, 2025.