Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, and LASIK
Many potential LASIK candidates inquire about the
relationships between pregnancy, breastfeeding, and LASIK. In the most basic terms, LASIK is not an
option for women who are pregnant, planning on becoming pregnant, or lactating.
One of the main reasons why LASIK is not suitable for
pregnant or breastfeeding women is the fact that both pregnancy and lactation
can cause eyesight changes. The hormonal
fluctuations that women go through in these conditions cause the body to retain
fluid, even in the eyes. When the eyes’
lenses swell, the way they bend or refract light changes, which causes vision
to be slightly distorted.
In order to make eyesight clearer, LASIK changes the way the
cornea refracts light. Prior to conducting
a LASIK procedure, our certified LASIK surgeon carefully diagnoses each eye’s
refractive error using Wavefront technology, which produces a 3-D map of the
irregularities in each of the corneas.
The LASIK procedure utilizes this information to determine the
correction that needs to be done. If a
diagnosis is made while the patient is experiencing fluctuations in their eyes
as a result of pregnancy or lactation, their refractive error could be
overcorrected or under corrected, resulting in unsatisfactory vision results.
Aside from the potential result of unsatisfactory results
due to pregnancy or lactation, the medications associated with the LASIC
procedure could be harmful. The
antibiotic eye drops and inflammation reducing cortisone eye drops that are
part of the necessary post-operative care for LASIK patients could harm a
pregnant mother and her child if absorbed into the bloodstream, especially
during the first trimester. Further, eye
drops used to dilate the pupils have not been tested on pregnant women, and
studies have not been done to discern whether or not any of these medications,
if absorbed into the milk supply of a lactating mother, could harm the
baby.
Lastly, dryness in the eyes, the predominant symptom of the
LASIK procedure could cause problems for pregnant women as it is a symptom of
both LASIK and pregnancy. Typically, the
dryness resulting from LASIK is temporary, but in some cases, it can develop
into Dry Eye Syndrome, which must be managed long-term. The combination of pregnancy and LASIK could
cause particularly dry eyes post-surgery.
Because of these health factors and risks, if you are hoping
to have the LASIK procedure but are also planning on becoming pregnant, you
must have the baby, finish breastfeeding, and allow at least three months
before going through with the operation.
