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A Warning about Nipple Cream

Looking for The Lactivist? She's retired. But you CAN still find Jen blogging. These days, she's runs A Flexible Life. Join her for life, recipes, projects and the occasional rant.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Many thanks to my friend Amber Tardiff-Watson for letting me know about an FDA warning about "Mommy's Bliss Nipple Cream." Apparently use of the cream can cause some health problems in nursing infants.

Here's a snippet from the warning:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use or purchase Mommy’s Bliss Nipple Cream, marketed by MOM Enterprises, Inc., because the product contains potentially harmful ingredients that may cause respiratory distress or vomiting and diarrhea in infants. The product is promoted to nursing mothers to help soothe and heal dry or cracked nipples. Product labeling specifically states that there is no need for mothers to remove the cream prior to nursing. However, the ingredients contained in the product may be harmful to nursing infants.

Potentially harmful ingredients in Mommy’s Bliss Nipple Cream are chlorphenesin and phenoxyethanol. Chlorphenesin relaxes skeletal muscle and can depress the central nervous system and cause respiratory depression (slow or shallow breathing) in infants. Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that is primarily used in cosmetics and medications. It also can depress the central nervous system and may cause vomiting and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration in infants.

Mothers and caregivers should watch for a decrease in an infant’s appetite. More serious signs would be difficulty in awakening the child, limpness of extremities or a decrease in an infant’s strength of grip and a change in skin color. Please seek immediate medical attention if your child is showing these signs and symptoms.


Amber points out on her blog that if you HAVE used this product and you DO notice any problems, you should contact the FDA and let them know.

Consumers are strongly encouraged to report adverse events related to this product or any FDA approved product to MedWatch, the agency’s voluntary reporting program, by e-mail at www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm, or by phone at 800-332-1088, or by fax to 800-332-0178. Consumers may also mail reports of adverse events to MedWatch, Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD, 20852-9787.

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  1. Anonymous Anonymous | 9:02 PM |  

    I don't know if this helps any new nursing moms out there who are looking for something "safe" to ease sore nipples instead of using something that might harm baby... When I was new to nursing a year ago, a co-worker of mine bought me some organic coconut oil. I was having an extremely difficult, painful bout of yeast infection of both breasts and the oil (which is in solid form below about 72 degrees and liquifies above that temperature) was very soothing. An added bonus is that coconut oil has some antifungal properties that helped with the yeast. And I'm sure that baby found it to be much tastier that the other ingredients commonly used in nipple creams (lidocaine anyone?)!

  2. Anonymous Anonymous | 2:12 PM |  

    When I read this a couple weeks ago, I thought "I'm glad I've never heard of this brand!" Otherwise I probably would have tried it back in the day. I still have several tubes of almost full Lansinoh around the house!

  3. Anonymous Anonymous | 5:08 AM |  

    Wow! Who knew! I didn't even know that brand existed.

  4. Blogger Godless Sunday | 8:22 PM |  

    WOW. YIKES. Thanks for posting that.

  5. Anonymous Anonymous | 5:25 PM |  

    This was new to me also. Thanks for posting this so that people like me would know about it.

  6. Anonymous Anonymous | 4:51 PM |  

    I guess you think if it is on the market, it would be safe for your baby. Thanks for posting this warning. So scary. I used the Booby Tubes http://www.all-natural-mommies.com/cart/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=32
    they helped a lot and don't endanger my baby.

  7. Anonymous Anonymous | 11:35 PM |  

    Wow, thanks for the info! I'm currently 37 weeks pregnant and trying to get as much information about breastfeeding as possible. This is one piece of important information that all breastfeeding moms should know!
    By the way, I think your blog is awesome, would you like to submit it to my website so more people can read it? Thanks so much!
    http://www.rankiranki.com/

  8. Anonymous Anonymous | 4:16 AM |  

    Gee, thanks for such warning and advice. I haven't come across Mommy's Bliss Nipple Cream, though I got to try Agent Provocateur's.

  9. Anonymous Anonymous | 11:52 PM |  

    I heard about the issue between Mama bliss all over as well. It's kinda scary that such cream will have an adverse effect on our babies. I wonder if there are also bras or silicone nipple covers that could also give some adverse reactions on children.

    I'm an avid Lansinoh nipple cream fan. It may be pricey, but the results are fantastic so far.

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