Breastfeeding for colds and other conditions

Is it possible to feed a child if the mother has a cold, hyperthermia or other conditions? This question is very relevant, because the process of breastfeeding is the most important thing for the baby in the first half of his life, as well as for the mother. Therefore, it is important to understand what conditions and diseases the mother has can affect the quality of breast milk.

Colds in mothers during lactation

Is it possible to feed a child if the mother has a cold and fever? To give a clear answer to this question, it is necessary to understand many nuances.

Babies are very sensitive to the outside world. Parents should hold them very carefully in all conditions. No disease or infectious object should touch them. For every child, the mother's breast is the most comfortable place. He also gets great pleasure from breastfeeding. But have you thought about what will happen to the child when the mother gets sick? This is the time when even a child can get sick. The child can get infected by the mother's breath. Even with skin contact, the child can get sick. But what about lactation?

Very rarely, illness is transmitted through breast milk. The chances of spreading the infection are higher if you are in close contact with your baby. But even if you are in close contact with your baby, your breast milk can protect your baby from getting the infection from you. This is because your breast milk carries antibodies that your body produces to fight infection in your baby. And if your baby gets sick, breastfeeding will actually help him recover faster because of these same antibodies in the milk. This is the main argument for continuing breastfeeding. Stopping breastfeeding can cause your milk to stagnate. This can cause mastitis and make your fever worse. If you stop feeding for a long period of time, you will also find that your breast milk supply has also decreased. This means that your milk will drain very quickly if you do not feed.

When a mother suffers from a cold and fever, there is no risk to the baby. But can you breastfeed if the mother has the flu? Flu is a very serious viral disease. The risk of transmitting the flu virus is much higher than any other virus. But despite this, you should continue breastfeeding, even if you have a common illness with a sore throat, cough. Close body contact can be a cause for the transmission of the disease, but the antibodies in breast milk most of the time protect your baby from infection from you.

In fact, you are infected a few days before you start showing symptoms, and thus your baby is exposed to your illness before you show symptoms. Therefore, it is recommended to breastfeed, as breast milk transfers antibodies (proteins synthesized in our body against foreign particles, here, against fever and viruses) to your baby and helps to increase his immunity level.

If you continue breastfeeding, your baby is unlikely to become ill, or if he or she does develop an illness, the effect will be mild.

Breast milk is easier for your baby to digest than any other food or even formula. Therefore, to provide the baby with the necessary nutrients that can be absorbed faster, it is important to breastfeed when the mother is sick.

Research shows that breastfeeding relaxes your body and relieves you from depression as it causes the release of oxytocin. So, continuing to breastfeed will help you become stress-free and increase your comfort level, which will definitely speed up your recovery.

If you temporarily stop breastfeeding just because you have a fever or flu, it can cause your breast milk supply to decrease. So once you recover from your illness, you may have a problem with low milk supply, which in turn can affect your baby.

Sometimes, if you decide to stop breastfeeding temporarily because of your fever or cold, there is a chance that your baby may not accept your breast after recovering from your illness. After all, it is much easier to feed formula from a bottle than from the breast. This can lead to early weaning, and this can affect you and your baby.

Stopping breastfeeding suddenly can cause milk stagnation in the breasts and can cause inflammation and subsequent infection in the breasts. So, continuing to breastfeed even if you have minor illnesses such as fever, cold or cough can reduce the risk of mastitis.

Knowing all these benefits of breastfeeding, it is always beneficial to continue breastfeeding even if you have a fever while breastfeeding.

But there are certain conditions when you should stop breastfeeding your baby. In conditions such as septicemia, HIV fever, or if you are undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, you should stop breastfeeding. Fortunately, such cases are very rare.

If you have the flu, you can breastfeed because the virus in your body does not pass through milk. In this case, you just need to limit skin-to-skin contact with your baby. If your fever is a sign of illness or infection, you can reduce the risk of passing it on to your baby by taking a few precautions.

Wash your hands frequently with soap and hot water or use hand sanitizer. Wash your hands properly before and after feeding, changing, and holding your baby. It is best to remove your rings, bracelets, or other hand jewelry before washing your hands.

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when sneezing or coughing.

Place used, dirty tissues and handkerchiefs directly in the trash rather than storing them on a nightstand or in your baby's room.

Do not put your baby's pacifier in your mouth before giving it to your baby.

Don't kiss your baby's face while you're sick. You'll have plenty of time to do it again when you're better.

If your baby has started eating foods other than milk, wash your hands well before preparing food. If you use a spoon to taste your baby's food, do not return it to the food.

Keep your surroundings clean, especially areas where your baby likes to crawl and play. Make sure there are no medications or used wipes lying around. Wash and change linens, such as sheets and towels, frequently. Use disinfectant to clean floors and bathrooms.

If weather permits, open the windows to allow sunlight and fresh air to kill the virus in your room's air faster.

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Lactation in other conditions of the mother

Many people are interested in whether it is possible to feed a child if the mother has diarrhea, because loss of fluid and feeding can negatively affect the mother’s well-being.

Breastfeeding mothers with diarrhea may be afraid of passing the disease on to their babies and may worry about whether they can continue breastfeeding while they are sick. Fortunately, diarrhea usually goes away on its own within a few days with simple home care measures, and continuing to breastfeed may actually protect your baby from contracting infectious causes of diarrhea.

Diarrhea is very common and has many causes. A few weeks after giving birth, diarrhea may be caused by taking laxatives to relieve postpartum constipation. It may also be caused by the stress of having a new baby in the house. Diarrhea is most often caused by a virus infecting the intestines and usually lasts two to three days. But diarrhea can also be caused by: allergies to certain foods, medications, foods, a bacterial infection, or other infections.

When you are dealing with diarrhea, you may experience bloating and pain, loose and watery stools, an urgent need to go to the bathroom, and possibly nausea. None of these common causes of diarrhea pose a problem in terms of continuing to breastfeed your baby. A breastfeeding mother can also develop infectious gastroenteritis, the most common cause of sporadic diarrhea in adults. Most cases are viral, although bacteria and parasites can also cause gastroenteritis. The organisms responsible for infectious gastroenteritis cannot be passed to your baby through breast milk. So you don’t have to worry about breastfeeding infecting your baby. In fact, breastfeeding reduces your baby’s risk of contracting infectious gastroenteritis.

Viral gastroenteritis usually does not require any medication and usually goes away on its own within a few days. Therefore, there is no objective reason to stop lactation.

Maintaining adequate fluid intake for a mother with diarrhea is a major concern if you are breastfeeding. Infectious diarrhea usually causes watery diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration. Inadequate hydration can cause dizziness, especially when you stand up after sitting. This can pose a safety risk to you and your baby if you accidentally fall. While it is important for you to increase your fluid intake to replace the water lost due to diarrhea, your breast milk is unlikely to be affected unless you are severely dehydrated. Infectious diarrhea can also make you feel tired, so it is important to get as much rest as possible. For example, napping with your baby will allow you to rest and breastfeed without getting out of bed.

However, you should not forget about precautions, because if it is viral diarrhea, you must prevent transmission to the baby. Wash your hands with soap and water after using the bathroom and before preparing food to avoid spreading infectious gastroenteritis to other people in your family, including your baby. In most cases, diarrhea resolves on its own and does not pose a significant health risk to the mother or her baby.

Changing your diet is the easiest and most natural way to treat diarrhea while breastfeeding. Eat probiotic foods like yogurt or kefir. Certain types of dairy products are good for diarrhea and upset stomach. Live bacteria known as probiotics found in yogurt and kefir (a fermented milk drink) can replace the healthy bacteria normally found in your digestive tract that are lost due to diarrhea.

Lactation and herpes infection

Can you breastfeed your baby if your mother has herpes, and is it dangerous for the baby? The herpes simplex virus and the varicella-zoster virus are two members of the herpes virus family. Symptoms of a herpes infection include outbreaks of small blisters or sores on the skin that can appear not only on the lips, as in all humans, but also on the chest.

Herpes usually appears as an open sore or small blisters in the mouth area. Genital herpes is usually transmitted through sexual contact, producing blisters on the genital skin. Small, painful, red oval blisters containing viral material dry out and form a scab after a few days (similar to chickenpox lesions). The risk of transmitting the virus through breast milk is very small. In nursing mothers with herpes, breastfeeding should not be interrupted, except when the herpes vesicles are located on the breast. Active lesions on other parts of the body should be covered, and the nursing mother's hygiene should not be neglected so that breastfeeding can be maintained.

Because these viruses are spread by simply touching the sores, it is important that your child avoids skin-to-skin contact with any of the herpes lesions or sores.

If active herpes sores are on the breast or nipple, mothers are currently advised not to breastfeed until they clear up. If you have a herpes blister on your breast that is close to your nipple or areola, do not breastfeed on that side until the area is completely clear. Instead, express or pump milk from that breast. If you can express milk from the infected breast without touching the sores, you can use that milk to feed your baby. Otherwise, you should discard it. You may need to supplement your breast milk with formula at this time. Breastfeeding can continue on the other breast if there are no lesions on that breast. Practicing strict hygiene, including washing your hands thoroughly with soap before breastfeeding and sterilizing breast pump parts after each use, will help prevent the spread of infection.

A mother with lip blisters can breastfeed, but she should not kiss the newborn and should take precautions seriously when the sore is active.

Lactation during menstruation

Is it possible to breastfeed a child if the mother is menstruating? At first glance, the question is quite strange, but if you analyze all the aspects, the question is very correct.

One of the first thoughts that comes to your mind when you are pregnant is that there will be no more uncomfortable periods, at least for the duration of your pregnancy.

If you are breastfeeding, you will not have your period for at least a few months after your baby is born. Also, if you are exclusively breastfeeding, your period will be further delayed, and may not return for nearly seven to eight months after you have your baby.

Some mothers can breastfeed and still get their period within the first two to three months of their baby's birth. On the other hand, some mothers can breastfeed and enjoy a long break from their period for eight to ten months. But how do these things relate?

If you are exclusively breastfeeding, your period may not return until your baby increases the gap between feedings. For example, your baby may start sleeping for longer periods at night, or your baby may be feeding well.

Therefore, the connection between feeding and menstruation is direct - the longer and the more regularly you breastfeed, the less likely you are to have menstruation and, accordingly, pregnancy. But menstruation itself does not affect lactation in any way, and you can safely continue to feed your baby.

For some women, breastfeeding and the sensations associated with menstruation become more challenging. An effective treatment for these symptoms associated with the return of menstruation is to add a calcium and magnesium supplement to the mother's diet. The supplement should be 1500 milligrams of calcium and 750 milligrams of magnesium, but can be up to 500 calcium and 250 magnesium (the higher the dosage, the more effective and faster the results). This should be a combination of drugs. Calcium and magnesium prevent the drop in calcium levels in the blood that occurs mid-cycle and continues into the second or third day of the period. This is the condition associated with nipple soreness and a drop in milk supply, as well as uterine contractions that are often experienced with menstruation.

Menstruation while breastfeeding can also cause a drop in milk supply. This does not happen to every woman, but some women notice that their milk supply drops slightly starting a few days before their period. Menstruation can slightly change the taste of your milk, making it less palatable to your baby. It is very important not to stop breastfeeding under any circumstances, and if your milk supply is low, you should simply nurse your baby more often.

Feeding your baby after birth is the most important thing you can give him, including all the most useful elements and protective factors. In fact, there are very few reasons for the mother to stop lactating, and before making such a decision, you should consult with your doctor.