Canasa vs Asacol and Breastfeeding

Call the local La Leche League and ask them to look it up in the book Medications and the Mother's Milk by Tom Hale or look it up on his forum online. Most drug companies will say you can't breastfeed, and most GIs and OBs will say the same thing because they really don't know. But Hale is considered the authority on what is safe to take while breastfeeding and has done tons of studies. Lactation specialists are generally more in the know about these things than the doctors are. My GI and pediatrician said I absolutely could not breastfeed while taking Remicade, but Hale's book oks it and I talked to a lactation specialist who said it would be ok, as well.

The 5ASAs that are forumlated to release in the colon (like Asacol) are actually quite poorly absorbed, so very little gets into the bloodstream. There's a link to an article about IBD and pregnancy in the "sticky" thread at the top of the main page (titled UC resources) and it discusses using mesalamine while breastfeeding. Apparently, there's only been one baby who had bloody diarrhea in all moms who used mesalamine while breastfeeding.  So, if you've been taking it since birth, and he's doing well one month later, I'd say you're ok. Honestly, as someone who went into her first (pretty severe) flare after childbirth, my advice is to use both Asacol and Canasa and keep yourself healthy. It was so incredibly hard to care for my baby when I was as sick as I was, and I know I didn't enjoy him when he was tiny as much as I could have. Plus, I lost my supply at eight weeks post partum due to being so sick. Even if you feel that breastfeeding is too risky while taking Asacol, I still think you'd be better off to keep yourself on your meds, stay healthy, and formula feed.