Vaccinations and Breast Feeding

[ToadJode]

I was only able to breast feed a couple weeks before I dried up completely, and we have been supplementing formula since my twin girls were born on September 15th.

I see a lot of people saying they don't worry about vaccinating because they EBF...but I don't have that option. Does that mean I *SHOULD* consider more vaccines, or would I still be okay to selectively vaccinate?

[LisaSedai]

From the website http://www.vaccinesuncensored.org/critical.php
"There was an interesting study done in Australia. They had four groups – breastfed and vaccinated, breast-fed and unvaccinated, bottle fed and vaccinated and bottle fed and unvaccinated… They looked at respiratory illness… The lowest instance of respiratory illness was in breastfed and unvaccinated. What was interesting was what was the second lowest; bottle fed and unvaccinated. That was shocking. This said that breast feeding wasn’t as important as not vaccinating your child."


Mayer Eisentein MD, Homefront Medical Director, Chicago

Don't know what study he is talking about though....

[carriebft]

Breastfeeding helps prevent some diseases whereas, with others, it mitigates effects and with others it has no effect on either or just one or the other. confused yet? LOL

Hib and PCV are two vaccines that prevent bacterias that cause pretty serious illness when they go invasive. Breastfeeding shows a lot of protection when it comes to these bacterias, though its not 100%. So these are two you might want to look into.

Breastfeeding will not provide sufficient immunity, even with natural infection in the mother, past infancy for the diseases contained in the MMR vaccine.

Breastfeeding does not seem to affect pertussis infection very much. Antibodies seem to wane too fast, are not in high amounts, etc with that one.

Breastfeeding can help prevent and mitigate the severity of rotavirus.

so you kinda get the idea...some help, some not, etc.


If I was unable to breastfeed, I would be looking more into PCV and rotavirus, whereas right now we do not do those. I would not delay hib and I would do DTaP as normal.

[HRJ]

Breastfeeding helps reduce chances of meningitis, pneumonia, and ear infections. For all other diseases such as pertussis and measles, etc. it doesn't make a whole lot of difference unless the mother has immunity acquired from the illness (which I would think most of us don't have). My pediatrician has a unvaxxed child that was formula fed. But she did say that he has a nanny instead of being in group daycare, etc.