Bfing and flu

[Penny4Them]

If a nursing mother were to get any type of flu, should she continue to nurse baby directly, or pump and have non-sick person give to baby. Also, does anyone have any tips on how to maintain milk supply while sick with flu?

My dh has swine flu going thru his workplace and I want to get my brain around what exactly I should do, in the event I get it too.

[MeepyCat]

IF you get the swine flu, you are likely to be contagious before you feel ill, so your baby will already be exposed.

On the upside, though, your baby will get antibodies through your breastmilk, so I'd continue to nurse directly.

In terms of keeping supply up while sick - be sure to get enough fluids. Fever tends to kill appetite, so a fever reducer like tylenol or motrin might help you feel well enough to eat.

[alegna]

Nurse nurse nurse!

-Angela

[Heba]

CDC (US) advice can be found here.
DH (UK) advice can be found here.

One suggests expressing and asking a non-sick person to look after baby. The other suggests continuing to breastfeed directly, expressing only if mum is too ill to breastfeed.

I think it's a good thing to be thinking about this now; the chances are that many of us will get H1N1 or another strain of flu this year. Hope you stay fit, though!

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by Heba

CDC (US) advice can be found here.
DH (UK) advice can be found here.

Hi Heba - thanks for the links! I appreciate the info. The 2nd one (UK) opens the CDC page. Do you mind reposting the UK link? Many thanks!

[mamazee]

I would definitely want to nurse if I had a contagious disease because my baby would already absolutely be exposed by the time I found out I was sick, and nursing gives the best chance for the baby to not get sick too.

[Heba]

Originally Posted by PatioGardener

Hi Heba - thanks for the links! I appreciate the info. The 2nd one (UK) opens the CDC page. Do you mind reposting the UK link? Many thanks!

Oops - *duh me!*

This is the UK link: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/C...tion/DH_099965

(I'll go back and fix the original link now.)

[PatioGardener]

Thanks!