Pharmaniaga Morphine Sulphate Use In Pregnancy & Lactation

Pregnancy: An association with increased frequency of inguinal hernias in Infants has been postulated in man. Pregnant patients should only be given morphine when the benefits clearly outweigh potential risks to the foetus.
Breast-feeding: Morphine is excreted in human milk and breastfeeding is not recommended while a patient is receiving morphine. Withdrawal syndrome was observed in breastfed infants after maternal administration of morphine sulfate had been stopped.
Use in labour/delivery: Morphine may prolong labour by temporarily reducing the strength, duration and frequency of uterine contractions. Conversely, it may tend to shorten labour by increasing the rate of cervical dilatation. Infants born to mothers receiving opioid analgesics during labour should be observed closely for signs of respiratory depression. In such infants a specific opioid antagonist, naloxone hydrochloride, should be available for reversal of narcoticinduced respiratory depression. After chronic morphine use by the mother, newborns may develop withdrawal symptoms.