are you kidding me?

[hippiemommaof4]

ok we shouldnt be surprised gven that it comes from babycenter.com but it still pees me off that they could potentially ruin nursing relationships with this advice to pump instead and feed with a bottle

http://www.babycenter.com/0_swine-fl...ng_10324641.bc

[hippiemommaof4]

I am writing them still!
i misread it they said to make bottles and have someone else feed too if ffing. somehow i missed that...lol
NAK

[RoseDuperre]

Whoa, that is maddening. Aren't the antibodies produced right there AT the breast?? Isn't being AT the breast the most important component for protecting babies with breastmilk, for that very reason?

[BlessedMommy2006]

That is bad advice, IMO. When I was 3 weeks postpartum I got as sick as a dog with the flu. (In hindsight, I think that it may have been the swine flu)

I nursed on demand, slept with the baby, etc. and the most he got were some sniffles and wheezes.

ETA: The antibodies that babies need most come from direct nursing, not pumping. Plus, putting the burden of pumping on a very ill mom could encourage her to just use formula, the exact opposite of what you want to be encouraging!

[TopHat]

Unfortunately, they are probably referencing the CDC's advice here: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/infantfeeding.htm

"If you are breastfeeding, someone who is not sick can give your baby your expressed milk."

[khaoskat]

Have not read the article, but if it is about breastfeeding while having H1N1. They are following the recommendations of the CDC. The CDC has stated that if a BF'ing mom has H1N1, then she should pump her milk and allow someone else to feed her baby, so she does not put the baby in contact with H1N1.

[hippiemommaof4]

Oh you can be sure coming from BC they are following the cdc.Its just so ridiculous and the fact that people will do it is just frustrating...the baby is already exposed by the time the mom finds out she has it herself anyway, even just being in the same house. Uggggh it just makes me really. Wash your hands and cover your face and mouth...how hard is that?

We had some horrible, I mean horrible illness a couple months ago (my dh and I were bed ridden for 24 hrs literally and sick for days after that) and my baby was completely fine nursed the whole time. It just doesnt make sense...

[khaoskat]

I wonder how they are enforcing this in the hospital. I mean if I show in labor with H1N1 are they going to keep my child from me?

[hippiemommaof4]

Originally Posted by khaoskat

I wonder how they are enforcing this in the hospital. I mean if I show in labor with H1N1 are they going to keep my child from me?

One of my boardie friends who is pregnant said that on her hospital tour that they wont let the mom have the baby if she has it, she has to pump her milk for the baby...ugggh! how can they legally do that?

[khaoskat]

This is why pregnant ladies should not be in a hospital....

[lmj928]

Yeah, it's sad. A friend of mine had a baby a couple weeks ago and she was in the NICU (planned c section at 37 weeks ) - anyway, while there, mom was showing flu like symptoms so they kept the entire family separate from the baby for almost 2 weeks!!! She didn't get to hold her once after birth, and they could not even Look at her. They just brought her home after exactly 2 weeks. And you know what, the flu swab came back negative for H1N1, and they are thinking...the swab must have been done improperly...

[proudmomof4]

I just posted this as a response in a different thread:

The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding, p. 358:

"The sIgA found in a mother's milk is produced locally in her breasts, but what kind of antibodies are produced in the breast is determined by immune responses in the mother's gut and respiratory tract. When germs enter mother's body, her immune system responds by producing antibodies. Information about this response travels to the mucosal surfaces in the mammary gland, and the breast then makes IgA antibodies that will fight the germs to which mother has been exposed. These antibodies end up in her baby and help him fight the bacteria and viruses in their shared environment. In other words, when baby comes into contact with a new germ, all he has to do is pass it on to his mother, perhaps by nursing at her breast, and her body will manufacture antibodies to that germ and give them back to baby in her milk. The antibodies in mother's milk will also reflect the germs with which she has come in contact in the past. These antibodies will protect her baby especially during the early monts of life, until the time that he is better able to fight disease and infection on his own."

Wouldn't that translate in letting the baby breastfeed (in the litteral sense) to get the best immune response possible?

[TopHat]

It's particularly sad when "flu-like symptoms" can be a result of certain interventions. For example, a slight fever can be a result of an epidural.

[sondacop]

question

I still don't understand how the antibodies produced by the mother get to the baby, aren't they destroyed in the baby's gut?

[khaoskat]

Ok, not sure if this is how, but you can absorb things through the skin/tissue in your mouth and throat. You can more drunk and drunk faster by swishing your drink around your mouth and spitting it out, than by drinking it.

[mambera]

Originally Posted by sondacop

I still don't understand how the antibodies produced by the mother get to the baby, aren't they destroyed in the baby's gut?

Baby's gut is 'open' and allows the passage of large molecules, unlike an adult gut.

The gut closes at 4-6 months, I'm not sure whether the BM antibodies are useful after that or not. We've got a couple of threads on this issue running on the 'Breastfeeding Beyond Infancy' board right now.

[April Dawn]

Originally Posted by RoseDuperre

Whoa, that is maddening. Aren't the antibodies produced right there AT the breast?? Isn't being AT the breast the most important component for protecting babies with breastmilk, for that very reason?

Oh no! Is this true? I am exclusively pumping for my son... long story, but we've worked with several lactation consultants and a speech therapist and he still can't latch, never has been able to due to some medical issues. So I've been pumping and I thought he was getting all the benefits of breastmilk that way, even though he wasn't getting the nursing relationship. But does this mean he's not even getting the immune boost from nursing? I feel like such a breastfeeding failure...

But to get back on topic, my mom's a nurse and the hospital she works at has announced that they will separate baby from any new mother who's showing flu symptoms. I don't see how they can do that!

[mambera]

Originally Posted by April Dawn

Oh no! Is this true? I am exclusively pumping for my son... long story, but we've worked with several lactation consultants and a speech therapist and he still can't latch, never has been able to due to some medical issues. So I've been pumping and I thought he was getting all the benefits of breastmilk that way, even though he wasn't getting the nursing relationship. But does this mean he's not even getting the immune boost from nursing? I feel like such a breastfeeding failure...

I think you're probably fine dear!!

White blood cells should be fine at room temperature for at least half an hour or so I'd guess, possibly up to several hours. Not sure about survival in the refrigerator but I would guess not more than several hours there either.

Antibodies are good in the fridge for ages, though they'll die in the freezer.

I'd make an effort to feed the baby the BM as freshly as possible; but as long as most of it isn't stored for extended periods of time, baby should be getting most or all of whatever he'd be getting from the tap.

Also you can pick up baby's germs (to prime your own immune system) by any kind of close contact, it doesn't have to be nursing per se.

[kriket]

Originally Posted by RoseDuperre

Whoa, that is maddening. Aren't the antibodies produced right there AT the breast?? Isn't being AT the breast the most important component for protecting babies with breastmilk, for that very reason?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you are saying, but pumped milk still has the majority of the antibodies. I would venture to assume the amount of 'good stuff' lost is negligible.

Not saying I agree with that article. But there are mamas and babies out there that can't get a latch and this is kinda a smack in the face. (And I'm sure they are reading the forums while they are pumping, I know I am)

[April Dawn]

Originally Posted by kriket

(And I'm sure they are reading the forums while they are pumping, I know I am)

Yep, totally. My pumping time is my online time!