Great, now what do I do??

[moxygirl]

I just ate a granola bar that contains epazote (a Mexican culinary herb). The thing is, it's not supposed to be eaten during lactation since it can be toxic (causing, among other things, heart arrhythmias). I'm usually careful to read ingredients and look things up BEFORE eating them, but of course, this time I didn't. I ate one earlier as well. Is it a big deal? How long do I have to wait for it to be out of my system before I can breastfeed again? My 8-week-old is on mostly formula at the moment due to serious breastfeeding issues, but I've been trying to get back to nursing at least part time and now this. Ur! Help please!
Thanks!

eta: I called my pedi's nurse line and the nurse, very concerned, said don't breastfeed for at least 24 hours, maybe at least 48. Not very specific. So I called Poison Control who said it probably wasn't a big deal since there probably wasn't a large amount in a granola bar but referred me to a teratogen center. Since the call went to voice mail, I'm assuming they're not open on the weekend. So I guess, unless someone has had experience with this before, I'm going to have to wait to bf again till at least Monday morning. Blah.

[SallyN]

I just checked Dr. Hale's book and online forum and didn't get any hits for "epazote". Same for lactnet.
That said, I'm not familiar enough with it to search for other names.

Maybe post in a tribe thread for Mexico? You may have a greater likelyhood of reaching someone who would be more familiar with it's usage and safety.

Good luck!

[PatioGardener]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysphania_ambrosioides

Dysphania ambrosioides contains ascaridole, which according to wikipedia seems to be the potentially toxic ingredient. The questions is who on earth would put a toxic herb in granola bars? The amount there is likely to be so small that it won't cause provblems (or you'd think the FDA would have objected!)

I agree with SallyN - post in the tribe thread for Mexico and see if nursing moms use that same herb (Worm Seed, in English) for cooking. If they do then you know it's OK in small quantities.

Going 48 hours without breastfeeding with an 8 week old would likely hurt the supply of a full supply mom, let alone a mom who is having supply issues. I think it is important for you to find out about this asap and hopefully get that baby back to the breast!

Good luck.

[Bokonon]

Are you pumping? If you are feeding mostly formula and are concerned, just keep pumping, toss that milk, and keep feeding formula. Otherwise I wouldn't be too worried about it. A tiny bit of it is probably not going to be harmful.