There’s no way around it — it’s toxic.
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that can quickly and significantly mess with the heart and the brain. Roughly 25 million people use cocaine worldwide each year, studies show, including an estimated 750,000 pregnant women.
There’s new interest in the effects of cocaine on babies following accusations Kevin Federline, 47, lodged against ex-wife Britney Spears, 43, in his exposé, “You Thought You Knew,” due out Tuesday.
In the book, Federline claims that he watched Spears do cocaine with an unidentified actress at an album party in 2006, shortly after the birth of their younger son, Jayden James, now 19. Their older son, Sean Preston, was 1 at the time.
Federline said he confronted the “Toxic” singer, pleading with her not to “go home and breastfeed the kids like this. Call your mom or someone. We need to get formula. You can’t do this.”
Spears has dismissed the memoir’s allegations as “white lies.” Page Six reached out for comment regarding the alleged cocaine use.
So, how can cocaine affect breastfeeding babies? Here’s a look at the science.
How long does cocaine stay in breast milk?
There’s no medical reason for a nursing mother to use cocaine, and experts strongly advise against it.
Studies suggest that cocaine enters breast milk immediately and can remain detectable for up to 36 hours, depending on the amount consumed.
In one case, a woman reported snorting 500 milligrams — about 10 lines — of cocaine over four hours.
Her breast milk contained 10 to 15 micrograms per liter of the drug 12 hours later. It was immeasurable at 36 hours.
Can you pump and dump after consuming cocaine?
Pumping and dumping breast milk is when a mom expresses and discards her milk instead of feeding it to her baby because it contains alcohol or drugs.
Experts from the University of Washington Medical Center recommend scrapping milk for at least 36 hours after cocaine use.
“Do not let people use cocaine around your baby,” the medical team added. “Secondhand smoke from free-based cocaine can cause the same symptoms in your baby as it does in the user.”
What can cocaine do to a newborn?
Newborns have immature liver and kidney systems, which means they can’t efficiently break cocaine down into less powerful elements like adults.
Cocaine can affect most, if not all, of a developing baby’s organs depending on the dose, timing and frequency of exposure.
The drug can cause a rapid heart rate, dangerously high blood pressure, brain damage, seizures, breathing irregularities, digestive issues, developmental delays and even death.
Cocaine was mentioned on the death certificates of 78 US infants between 2015 and 2017, according to a 2021 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Are the effects worse than alcohol?
Drinking alcohol while breastfeeding can lead to infant sleep troubles, increased crying and delayed development.
The risks are even greater if the mother drank during her pregnancy.
Prenatal alcohol exposure is known to cause fetal alcohol syndrome, which is characterized by a distinctive set of facial abnormalities, brain damage and poor growth.
Cocaine exposure is not known to have a unique set of physical markers, though researchers admit it can be difficult to distinguish the effect of cocaine if the mother is using several drugs.
