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Influenza in a nursing mother (influenza when breastfeeding)
There is still a surprising misconception that the flu while breastfeeding can harm the baby and breastfeeding should be stopped at the first sign of illness. Although, in fact, everything is quite the opposite. Influenza in a nursing mother is not at all a reason to leave a baby without breast milk.
Influenza in a nursing mother can happen in the same way as in any other person. But this is not a reason to panic and wean your baby at the first sign of flu. After all, the flu has an incubation period, and if a nursing mother noticed flu symptoms in her, then most likely by this time her child is already infected. So there is no point in depriving the usual food.
Influenza in a nursing mother and breastfeeding
If influenza in a nursing mother has already made itself felt, then it is not only not necessary for her to suspend breastfeeding, but, on the contrary, it is highly discouraged. The fact is that the infection of the body occurs earlier than the first symptoms of the disease appear. So, even before a woman’s temperature rises, a runny nose and a sore throat appear, her child will receive the virus itself with milk, and antibodies to it and immune protection against the virus. Therefore, by the time the mother finally gets the flu, her baby will be either sick with her or protected by breast milk. We can say that breast milk is such a natural vaccine against flu while breastfeeding for the baby. By depriving the child of this milk, the mother takes away from him an effective, “individually developed” medicine. Another mistake is to boil breast milk – this will destroy all its protective properties. A gauze bandage is also unnecessary since the pathogen is already present in breast milk.
Neither a sick nor a healthy child should be weaned. Stopping feeding – the mother only exposes the child to the risk of illness or complicates its course. Influenza in a nursing mother is less dangerous for a child when he receives all the protective and antimicrobial substances he needs with milk. For the same reason, bottle-fed babies are more likely to tolerate the flu virus and get sick more often and for longer.
How to treat the flu in a nursing mother?
Influenza during breastfeeding is dangerous for its complications, which are completely useless for a nursing mother, but, unfortunately, not all medications can be compatible with lactation. Home remedies remain. So, as symptomatic agents, for example, for the treatment of cough, breast collection, licorice root, radish juice with honey, etc. can be used. Antiviral drugs based on interferon are allowed during lactation. A nursing mother with the flu should drink a lot – herbal teas, fruit drinks, water. To lower the temperature, use paracetamol or Nurofen (never aspirin). All medications must be prescribed by a doctor.
The indication for stopping breastfeeding is the incompatibility of any drug with lactation, but there is the following aspect. The fact is that clinical trials of the safety of the drug for pregnant women, lactating mothers and infants are not mandatory for registration of the drug on the market. Since this procedure is expensive, it is easier for pharmacists to indicate that the medicine is contraindicated in such cases. But do not rush to quit feeding! Always check your doctor’s prescription against the WHO guides before stopping breastfeeding on the advice of your doctor following the instructions for the medicine. In any case, even if it turns out that the drug is dangerous during lactation, there may be a safer analogue to it. Influenza in a nursing mother – the possibility of drug treatment is not canceled at all.
Influenza while breastfeeding is not a reason to neglect the mother’s health by refusing treatment, and it is also not a reason to deprive the baby of adequate nutrition. If the mother is already sick, she should rest as often as possible, be treated as thoroughly as possible and feed the baby as often as possible, protecting him from the virus.
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