How Soon Can One Resume Breastfeeding After Discontinuing HCG?

Posted on Mon, 16 Apr 2018

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 16 Apr 2018 Answered on

Fri, 4 Oct 2019 Last reviewed on

Question : I was taking 200 iu of hcg for the HCG diet but have stopped because I realize it is not a good option and I want to resume breastfeeding. How long do I have to wait before I can safely breastfeed again. I read that 1000iu of HCG will metabolize within 24 hours - is that accurate?

Answered by Dr. Lekshmi Rita Venugopal (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
It can upto 3 days for complete elimination of HCG

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thank you for trusting HCM

The half-life of HCG is 24 hours. That means it can take 24 hours to eliminate half of the HCG. The entire HCG will be eliminated from your system in 2-3 days.
There is theoretically no issue in breastfeeding right now. But since the HCG diet and injections given have not been proven safe it is better to wait for at least 3 days before you presume to breastfeed.

Hope this answers your question
Please let me know if you need further clarification
Regards
Dr.Lekshmi

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D