Purpose of review The purpose of this review is to present the most updated literature on care considerations for lactating patients in nonoperating room anesthesia (NORA) locations, including interventional radiology and gastroenterology. Recent findings NORA procedures with anesthesia have been markedly increasing in volume with projections that it will comprise over 50% of anesthetics. Compared to surgery, NORA can be more complex for lactating patients, as it frequently involves additional procedural agents with varying degrees of breastfeeding compatibility because of medication transfer or physiologic challenges. While clinicians may be concerned about infant exposure to medications after patients receive anesthesia, it is important to support the breastfeeding dyad in the perioperative period and only interrupt breastfeeding if indicated. A ‘sleep and keep’ principle should be employed to minimize unnecessary interruption of breastfeeding. Summary Lactating patients require perioperative support and collaboration between the anesthesiologist and proceduralist to maintain breastfeeding during an already stressful time. Evidence-based resources should be referenced to determine NORA-based medication compatibility and aid patient and physician decision making regarding lactation management perioperatively.
Barnett et al. (Wed,) studied this question.