How to Give Levothyroxine to Your Baby

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What is levothyroxine?

Levothyroxine is a medication that replaces the natural thyroid hormone your baby’s thyroid gland cannot make.

How do I give levothyroxine to my baby?

You can give levothyroxine to your baby by following these steps:

Step 1

Crush the entire pill with the back of a spoon or with a pill crusher.

Step 2

Put the entire crushed pill into the nipple of a bottle. Add a small amount of breast milk, formula or water to the nipple.

Step 3

Feed your baby with the nipple as you normally do. When your baby finishes eating, add a little more liquid to the nipple and feed your baby as you normally do. Repeat this step until your baby finishes the entire crushed pill and no pill powder is left in the nipple of the bottle.

You can also feed your baby with a spoon or syringe if he or she does not take bottles. In this case, add a little milk/water/formula to the spoon or syringe with the crushed pill and feed this to your baby. Add a little more liquid and repeat the process until no pill powder is left.

What else should I know about levothyroxine?

• Try to give levothyroxine 1 hour before feeding your baby. If you can’t do this, try to give levothyroxine in a consistent way every day.
• Do not give levothyroxine with soy formula, calcium supplements or iron supplements. These can decrease the amount of levothyroxine that your baby absorbs from the gut into his or her bloodstream.
• Your baby will need scheduled blood tests so we can adjust your baby’s levothyroxine dose as he or she grows. Your baby’s doctor will tell you when you should bring your baby in for blood tests.
• Do not mix the crushed pill with milk in the whole bottle.

If your baby vomits or spits up before finishing the bottle, he or she will not get the full dose of medication.

It’s best to give the pill with small amounts of liquid in the nipple of a bottle or a spoon until your baby finishes the pill.

Rev. 3/2015