If I Get Sick, Can I Still Nurse?

Yes! Nursing your baby is the best thing you can do to keep him/her. For you - just try to stay as hydrated as possible.. sip Vitalyte or something similiar. http://www.vitalyte.com/

Hope you are feeling better soon!
M.

Hi H.,

Yes, you can still nurse. My doctor had said that I could when I was sick. However, I still took some precautions. Like, I wore a mask so that I didn't breath on her and I made sure my arms and hands were scrub/washed really well. She didn't get sick!

Yes, you can (and you should try). I got food poisoning twice and spent my day/night alternating between feeding baby and running to the bathroom. No fun.

Try to sip water or chew on ice chips--you can make milk as long as you try to stay hydrated (and even if you don't, for a day or two at least). And get someone to help you--you may have the energy to feed the baby but you probably won't have the energy to change/play with/rock the baby. Good luck and best wishes for your house to recover quickly!

It is critical that you CONTINUE to breastfeed, especially if you get sick. Your body will build up the antibodies that fight the sickness, and these will pass in your milk to your baby. Keep drinking as much fluids as you can hold down and taking the prenatal vitamins (which you should continue to take as long as you're breastfeeding).

In addition, if your baby does catch it, breast milk may be all he wants to eat.

So much good luck to you.

Nurse away! He'll get the antibodies that your body makes to the illness and help him to get over it quicker. Plus, if he does get sick, he's going to need to stay hydrated as best you can. Try and keep yourself hydrated as well...that'll be key in keeping your milk supply up. No fluid in, no fluid out!

Good luck.
-M

YES! yes, yes. your body will fight the invader and you baby will get the benefit of the fight - mature immune cells "memory" of the illness that will be ready to fire up defences if he ever needs them. in a sence, every cold or flu you have while nursing strengthens your baby's immunity.
Good Luck
V.

Remember that when your body makes antibodies to fight infection, baby gets them too! So nursing is a great idea if you can do it.

I would be sure to wash your hands and all that as someone else suggested... and of course hand washing is a good way to try to avoid getting sick too!

Best of luck, hope you manage to escape the flu!

yes, Doctors actually incourage it. Gives baby lots of antibodies!!!!!

Yes, you can nurse, it will actually keep him from getting sick, your milk is always the best medicine. If you're not up to it, pump when you can to keep up your supply. If your supply decreases because you can't nurse or pump with all the achey and chills... nurse and pump as frequently as possible once you do feel better and your supply will come back in about 48hrs. Remember it's all on supply & demand.

I've nursed successfully though more than one bout of stomach bugs over the years. Do what you can to keep what you can down and you'll be good. The antibodies are good for your baby and can help lessen the severity with which they get the illness, if they get it at all. The worst time I survived my husband was in the hospital after an accident, my nursling was 9 months old, my other child was a little over 3. My oldest and I both had the throwing up. My youngest didn't get it nearly as bad as the 2 of us. I managed to take care of all of us and continue nursing him when he all but stopped solids.

Absolutely. Keep up the good work - and here's hoping you don't get it!

I just had it, too - called the Pump Station and they advised continuing to nurse. Said that the antibodies that I am producing would pass to my son.
Good luck!

Yes you can.
Wash hands a lot....
since your baby is under 6 months old... if your baby gets it, you must take him/her to the Doctor right away... a baby can get very dehydrated with an illness like that...

And just to be certain, ask your Pediatrician for any questions you have. At least your baby takes a bottle at night...

take care,
Susan

You can still nurse and give the baby antibodies as well. Make sure you're getting enough rest and if you're concerned about calories, try the brat diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) for nausea.

Yes!!! You can nurse and should nurse even when you are ill. Really, the only time you should not is if you are taking a medication that filters into your breast milk taht is harmful to an infant. Always let your doctor know you are nursing, as they can usually guide you toward medications that are safe while nursing.

Ugh, so sorry to hear you have to worry about this, not to mention living with an entire family that has had stomach flu has probably not been pleasant.
But the answer is YES, you can keep nursing as others have said.
My experience with a situation like this was when my first was 7 months old. I was among the "lucky" bunch of people that got food poisoning from tiramisu at my husband's company Christmas party. (A bunch of people had to be hospitalized, I didn't have it as bad, but I was still vomiting quite a bit for about a day.)

The biggest problem I had was that I was dehydrated, and my milk supply was low.
So the baby needed to nurse a lot more often to get what it needed.
So that was basically it. I felt lousy, and had to nurse a lot for a few days while my milk supply was low. Not fun, but totally do-able.
And like the others said, your antibodies will be protecting your baby. Chances are pretty slim the baby will get stomach flu, I've never personally known anyone whose young baby got stomach flu to be honest with you.

Yes!!! Your baby will pick up the immunities that your system is making. Besides, by the time you actually get sick, your baby will already have been exposed.

Wash your hands constantly, and get some disinfecting wipes and wipe down everything that everyone else has been touching before you touch it - door handles, appliance handles, faucets, tables.

Try to stay as hydrated as you can to make sure you have enough fluid to make milk for the baby. Here's a link to a website about nursing, with nursing while ill as the specific topic.

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/09a-illness_mother_baby.html

Here's an excerpt from the page that I think is relevant:

Very few maternal illnesses require the mother to stop breastfeeding. This is particularly true for infections the mother might have, the most common type of illness for mothers are being told they must stop. Viruses cause most infections, and most infections due to viruses are most infectious before the mother even has an idea she is sick. By the time the mother has fever (or runny nose, or diarrhoea, or cough, or rash, or vomiting etc), she has probably already passed on the infection to the baby. However, breastfeeding protects the baby against infection, and the mother should continue breastfeeding, in order to protect the baby. If the baby does get sick, which is possible, he is likely to get less sick than if breastfeeding had stopped. But often mothers are pleasantly surprised that their babies do not get sick at all. The baby was protected by the mother’s continuing breastfeeding. Bacterial infections (such as “strep throat”) are also not of concern for the very same reasons.

Yes, yes yes! You may not feel like it but you can still nurse and should.

Good luck and stay well!

My goodness woman, call your doctor about these things!

The short answer is, yes, you can and should still nurse, as the antibodies in your milk are your baby's best protection against getting sick.

Drink lots of water.

The more you nurse him the better off he'll be. While your body is fighting the bug, his will too. The advantage is that your anti-bodies are passed thru your milk and will help your baby not get as sick as well as get well sooner. Not to mention the only thing most really sick kids will eat is Boobie! You need to drink as much water as humanly possible both now in preperation for impending illness and while you are sick.. It will flush out your body quicker and make milk. Also you can try mega doses of vitamin C and a combo tincture of Echinacea & Goldenseal to help ward off all bugs and boost your immune system. Good luck and NURSE that baby!! :-)