Breastfeeding for colds and other conditions

Can I feed my baby if my mother has a cold, hyperthermia or other conditions? This issue is very relevant, because the process of breastfeeding is the most important 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 illnesses in the mother can affect the quality of breast milk.

Colds of the mother with lactation

Can I feed my baby if my mother has a cold and a fever? To give an unambiguous answer to this question, you need to understand many of the nuances.

Infants are very receptive to the outside world. Parents should keep them very carefully in all conditions. No disease or infectious object should touch it. For each child, the mother's breast is the most comfortable place. He also enjoys the breastfeeding of his mother. But you thought what would happen to the child when the mother fell ill? This is the time when even a child can get sick. The child can catch the breath of the mother. Even when in contact with the skin, the baby can get sick. But what about lactation?

Very rarely, the disease is transmitted through breast milk. The chances of spreading the infection are higher when in contact with the child. But even if you are in close contact with the baby, your breast milk can protect your child from getting infected from you. This is because your breast milk carries the antibodies that your body produces to fight infection to your baby. And if your child falls ill, breastfeeding will really help him to recover faster due to the same antibodies in milk. This is the main argument in favor of continuing breastfeeding. Termination of breastfeeding can lead to the fact that milk will stagnate. This can cause mastitis and worsen fever. If you stop feeding for a long period of time, you will also find that the amount of breast milk also decreased. This means that milk leaves very quickly, if not fed.

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

In fact, you become infected a few days before the symptoms begin to appear, and thus your child is affected by your illness before you have a disease. Therefore, it is recommended to breast-feed when breast milk transmits antibodies (proteins synthesized in our body against foreign particles, here, against fever and viruses) to your child and help to increase the level of its immunity.

If you continue breastfeeding, your child is unlikely to get sick, or if the disease develops, the effect of this will be mild.

Breast milk is easily absorbed by your child, than any other food or even a mixture. Therefore, in order to provide the child with the necessary nutrients, which can be quickly absorbed, it is important to breastfeed in case of illness in the mother.

Studies show that breastfeeding relaxes your body and relieves you of depression, as it causes the release of oxytocin. Thus, the continuation of breastfeeding will help you become stress-free and increase the level of comfort, which will certainly accelerate your recovery.

If you temporarily stop breastfeeding just because you have a fever or flu, this can lead to a decrease in the amount of your breast milk. Therefore, as soon as you recover from your illness, you may experience a problem with low milk content, which in turn can affect your child.

Sometimes, if you decide to temporarily stop breastfeeding because of your fever or cold, chances are that your child may not take your breast after recovering from your illness. After all, it's much easier to eat a mixture from a bottle than from a breast. This can lead to early excommunication, and this can affect you and your child.

The sudden cessation of breastfeeding can lead to stagnant milk in the breast and can cause inflammation and a subsequent infection in the chest. Thus, while continuing to breastfeed, even if you have minor illnesses such as fever, colds or cough, you 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 must stop breastfeeding your baby. In conditions such as septicemia, fever in HIV, or if you are undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer, you should stop breastfeeding. Fortunately, such cases are very rare.

If you have the flu, then you can breast-feed, because the virus in your body does not penetrate through the milk. In that case, you just have to limit contact with the baby's skin. If your fever is a sign of illness or infection, you can reduce the risk of transferring it to your child by taking several precautions.

Wash your hands often with soap and hot water or use a sanitation gel. Wash your hands properly before and after feeding, change and hold the baby. It is best to take off your rings, bracelets or other ornaments for your hands before washing your hands.

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

Put the used dirty napkins and handkerchiefs directly into the garbage, and do not store on the bedside table or in the baby's room.

Do not take your baby's nipple into your mouth before giving it to your baby.

Do not kiss your child's face while you are sick. You will have plenty of time to do it again when you feel better.

If your child began to eat food other than milk, wash your hands well before preparing food. If you use a spoon to try your baby's food, do not bring it back to food.

Keep your environment clean, especially in places where your child likes to crawl and play. Make sure there are no medications or used napkins lying around. Often wash and change clothes, for example, sheets and towels. Use a disinfectant to clean the floors and bathrooms.

If the weather permits, open the windows so that sunlight and fresh air rather kill the virus in the air of your room.

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Lactation in other conditions in the mother

Many are wondering whether it is possible to feed the baby if the mother has diarrhea, as the loss of fluids and feeding can have a bad effect on the mother's well-being.

Breastfeeding mothers with diarrhea may be afraid to infect their children and worry about whether they can continue breastfeeding during illness. Fortunately, diarrhea usually goes away on its own for several days with simple home care measures, and continued breastfeeding can actually protect your child from contracting infectious causes of diarrhea.

Diarrhea is very common and occurs for various reasons. A few weeks after delivery, diarrhea can be caused by the use of laxatives to relieve postpartum constipation. There may also be stresses due to the appearance of a newborn in the home. Diarrhea is most often caused by a virus that infects the intestine, and usually lasts two to three days. But diarrhea can also occur because of: allergies to certain foods, medications, foods, bacterial infections or other infections.

When you are dealing with diarrhea, you can experience bloating and pain, a loose and watery stool, an urgent need to go to the bathroom and, possibly, nausea. None of these common causes of diarrhea presents a problem in terms of continuing breastfeeding your child. Mom during lactation can also develop an 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 can not be passed on to your child through breast milk. Therefore, you need not worry that breastfeeding can infect your child. In fact, breastfeeding reduces your child's risk of contracting infectious gastroenteritis.

Viral gastroenteritis usually does not require any medications and usually goes away on its own for several days. Therefore, stop lactation while there are no objective reasons.

Maintaining adequate fluid intake for a mother with diarrhea is the main problem if you are breastfeeding. Infectious diarrhea usually causes watery diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration. Insufficient hydration can cause dizziness, especially when you get up after sitting down. This can pose a security risk to you and your child if you accidentally fall. Although it is important for you to increase fluid intake to replace lost water due to diarrhea, your breast milk is unlikely to suffer if you are not severely dehydrated. Infectious diarrhea can also cause a feeling of fatigue, so it is important to rest as much as possible. For example, a nap with a child will allow you to rest and breastfeed without getting up from bed.

Nevertheless, you should not forget about precautions, because if it is a viral diarrhea, you must prevent transmission to the child. Wash your hands with soap and water after using the bathroom, and before preparing food to avoid the spread of infectious gastroenteritis to other people in your family, including your child. In most cases, diarrhea is resolved by itself and does not pose a significant risk to the health of the mother or her child.

Changing your diet is the simplest and most natural way to treat diarrhea in breastfeeding. Eat probiotic foods like yogurt or kefir. Some types of dairy products are good for diarrhea and indigestion. Live bacteria, known as probiotics, found in yogurt and kefir (a sour milk drink), can replace healthy bacteria, usually found in your digestive tract, which are lost due to diarrhea.

Lactation and herpetic infection

Is it possible to feed the baby if the mother has herpes, and is it not dangerous for the baby? Herpes simplex virus and varicella zoster virus are two members of the herpes virus family. Symptoms of herpetic infection include outbreaks of small blisters or ulcers on the skin that can appear not only on the lips, like all people, 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 skin of the genital organs. Small, painful, red oval blisters containing viral material are dried and form a scab in a few days (like lesions of chicken pox). The risk of transmission of the virus through breast milk is very small. In nursing mothers with herpes, breastfeeding should not be interrupted, except when the herpetic vesicles are located on the breast. Active lesions in other parts of the body should be covered, and the hygiene of the nursing mother should not be overlooked, so that breastfeeding can be maintained.

Because these viruses are spread by a simple touch to ulcers, it is important that your child does not get in touch with the skin with any of the lesions or ulcers of herpes.

If active herpes sores are on the chest or nipple, mothers are currently advised not to breastfeed until they are gone. If you have a herpes bladder on your chest that is close to your pacifier or areola, do not breastfeed on the side until the area is completely cleansed. Instead, decant or deflate milk from this breast. If you can express milk from an infected breast without touching the rash, you can use this milk to feed your baby. Otherwise, you must abandon it. You may need to supplement your breast milk with a mixture at this time. Breastfeeding can continue on the other breast if there is no damage to this breast. Following strict hygiene, and if you wash your hands thoroughly with soap before breastfeeding and sterilize parts of the breast pump after each use, this will help prevent the spread of the infection.

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

Lactation with menstruation

Can I feed my baby if my mom has a period? At first glance, the question is rather strange, but if you analyze all aspects, then the question is very correct.

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

If you are breastfeeding, you will not have a period of at least a few months after the birth of your child. In addition, if you support exclusive breastfeeding, your months will be even more delayed, and may not return for almost seven to eight months after you have given birth to a baby.

Some mothers can breastfeed, and menstruation begins within the first two to three months after the birth of the child. On the other hand, some mothers can breastfeed and enjoy a long break from their monthly periods of eight to ten months. But how are these things interconnected?

If you are breastfeeding exclusively, your monthly periods may not return until your child has increased the gap between the feedings. For example, your child can begin to sleep for a longer time at night, or your child can eat well.

Therefore, the relationship between feeding and menstruation is direct - the longer and the more regularly breastfeed, the less likely that you will have menstruation and, accordingly, pregnancy. But the menstruation for lactation does not affect, and you can safely continue to feed your baby.

For some women, breastfeeding and sensations associated with menstruation become more difficult. Effective treatment of these symptoms associated with the return of menstruation, is to add to the diet of the mother supplement calcium and magnesium. Supplement should be 1500 milligrams of calcium and 750 milligrams of magnesium, but can be up to 500 calcium and 250 mg of magnesium (the higher the dosage, the more effective and quicker the results). It must be a combination of drugs. Calcium and magnesium prevent the drop in the level of calcium in the blood, which occurs in the middle of the cycle and continues on the second-third day of the period. This condition is associated with the soreness of the nipples and the drop in the amount of milk, as well as with the contraction of the uterus, which is often experienced during menstruation.

Menstruation in lactation can also cause a drop in milk supply. This does not happen for every woman, but some women notice that, starting a few days before menstruation, their milk supply drops a little. Menstruation can slightly change the taste of your milk, making it less acceptable for your child. It is very important in no case to stop feeding, and if you have little milk, then you just have to put the baby more often.

Feeding the baby after birth is the most important thing that you can give him, including all the most useful elements and protective factors. In fact, there are very few reasons for stopping lactation on the part of the mother, and before taking such a decision, you should consult a doctor.