"older" milk not appropriate for newborn?

[hazelbranch]

My cousin gave birth to a baby boy almost 2 weeks ago and she is breastfeeding him. Unfortunately she developed an infection and is in the hospital on morphine and all kinds of antibiotics and was told that she should not be giving her little one her expressed milk. I am still breastfeeding my 1 year old so I offered to pump some milk for him to avoid formula. The nurses are telling my cousin that my milk would not be appropriate for a newborn. Is that true? Is it a fat content issue, or something else? *confused*

[mama2mygirl]

That is true.
I just had someone in my LLL group asked for donated milk and she said that it needed to be from a mama with a baby less than one year.

[bandgeek]

Would they be ok with just supplementing with your milk? I can understand not wanting the baby's diet entirely of a milk that may not be appropriate nutrition, but 4-6 oz a day plus formula I don't think would hurt him...or rather, the benefits would outweigh any potential risks I think.

[johnsmom]

I disagree totally with the nurse.
Human milk will always be more appropriate than formula for human babies.
In the short-term, I'd personally feel better about using the milk of a mother with an older baby than formula.

Personally, if I was in your cousin's situation and I had a person generous enough to provide me with human milk for my baby instead of resorting to formula, I'd jump at the offer.

Also, your cousin might want to (if she's able to do so) look into meds that are compatible with breastfeeding. There are many resources for her to get this information, if her doctors aren't able/willing to do it for her. Because, obvioulsly, the best solution would be for her baby to a)room-in with her in the hospital, or b)have frequent nursing visits.

I hope your cousin is on the mend and home to her family soon.

Oh, and yes - it's likely a fat-content issue. But, we're talking short-term here, not using your milk exclusively for weeks, right?

[rachelsmama]

Originally Posted by johnsmom

I disagree totally with the nurse.
Human milk will always be more appropriate than formula for human babies.
In the short-term, I'd personally feel better about using the milk of a mother with an older baby than formula.

Personally, if I was in your cousin's situation and I had a person generous enough to provide me with human milk for my baby instead of resorting to formula, I'd jump at the offer.

Also, your cousin might want to (if she's able to do so) look into meds that are compatible with breastfeeding. There are many resources for her to get this information, if her doctors aren't able/willing to do it for her. Because, obvioulsly, the best solution would be for her baby to a)room-in with her in the hospital, or b)have frequent nursing visits.

I hope your cousin is on the mend and home to her family soon.

Oh, and yes - it's likely a fat-content issue. But, we're talking short-term here, not using your milk exclusively for weeks, right?

[PatioGardener]

I agree with the PPs

1) I bet Mama is fine to nurse baby on those meds, and if the meds aren't compatible with breastfeeding they need to (UA violation) find medications that are compatible.

2) I would pick human milk from any age nursling over the milk of another species any day.

Sorry to sound curt - situations like this where the health care provider is undermining the breastfeeding relationship and therefore the health of baby and mother make me angry!

[boobs4milk]

you can look up meds here:
http://neonatal.ttuhsc.edu/cgi-bin/d...s&access=guest

[mamazee]

Morphine is safe while breastfeeding, or I had a doctor tell me wrong after surgery when I was BF #1. Most antibiotics are safe while BF. So she's probably safe to BF and she should check with someone who has a copy of Hale's as to the specific drugs. Doctors are so into liability limiting that they just tell everyone to stop BF every time they prescribe anything.

That said, "older" milk isn't ideal but is better than formula.

[hazelbranch]

My cousin was released from the hospital today and is back home breast feeding her little one so all is well with the world again. Thanks for all of the information, it is good to know for the future!