thumbs down to "KidsHealth.org"

MelKnee · 11-09-2006, 01:57 PM

We've all had a stomach bug here. Dh, ds and I all threw up for about 18 hrs. DD was following the same course, but then kept throwing up after the 18 hrs. When she got to 24 hrs with keeping only one nursing session down, I searched on the internet to see when I should worry. I found this - http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/fir...ies/vomit.html
Under the section for infants 6 months to 1 year:

Quote:

After your infant goes more than about 8 hours without vomiting, you can reintroduce formula slowly to your infant.

No mention of breastmilk at all.

: Also, under the "For infants under 6 months" section, breastfeeding is mentioned second.

Anyway, I took their advice. Sort of.

I modified a bit. Instead of pedialite and formula, I used bm and bm. Dd is nursing like normal now and keeping everything down.

LittlePeanut · 11-09-2006, 03:00 PM

We just got over a tummy bug too. I knew from reading on kellymom that I should just keep on nursing regardless. It keeps them hydrated. Even if they can only hold it down for a few minutes, it's better than nothing! DS was exhasted from vomitting but nused like a superstar. The problem was each time he nursed it made me puke

I think my tummy muscles get too much of a workout and well... Ewwwww

What a bug though... YUCK!

Are you feeling better now?

LP

PatchPixie · 11-09-2006, 10:12 PM

Hope you are all feeling better!

I am ever amazed at how often nursing is completely left out of the equation by those giving the "advice"...

**annettemarie** · 11-09-2006, 10:13 PM

Nursing saved my daughter's life when she had rotovirus at 18 months. I am absolutely convinced of it.

firstkid4me · 11-09-2006, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by annettemarie

Nursing saved my daughter's life when she had rotovirus at 18 months. I am absolutely convinced of it.

I'm convinced that nursing is the only reaon dd didn't need to be hospitalized for dehydration when she had rotavirus at 13 months old.

It's amazing the amount of stupidity out there regarding nursing during stomach bugs. Dd's back up pediatrician (at the clinic, her regular ped, who we love, is out until December having a baby) said I wasn't to nurse her while she was vomiting and had diarrhea, saying "a few days without won't hurt her."

:

DBZ · 11-09-2006, 11:19 PM

When my dd was sick with bronchitis last year my doctor told me that she tells her FFing moms to cut the formula in half, but that because I was BFing that I should keep it up. I think that advice the website gave is fine for FF babies. Formula isn't as gentle as BM which is why it would need to be more restricted.

They should say something about vomiting and the BFed baby for the 6 months to 1 year age group though, but I think they did an ok job overall

Serrendipity · 11-10-2006, 08:36 AM

Besides the fact that a breastfeeding infant doesn't need pedialyte, I would say my only real complaint is that they don't mention breastfeeding at all for the 6-12 month age range. The language assumes that the baby is formula fed by then, and I find that rather inaccurate and insulting. Other than that, it seems ok.

Serendipity

Momtwice · 11-10-2006, 08:44 AM

Definitely check out the informatioin at http://www.kellymom.com about breastfeeding when a child is ill, pedialyte is not for bf babies in most cases.

Human milk can destroy viruses, bacteria, and even cancer cells.

sapphire_chan · 11-10-2006, 10:38 AM

Don't FF babies get sick more often? Breastfeeding's listed second because breastfeeding mamas don't need the information as much. You just have to be smart enough to know that only the section that specifically addresses breastfeeding has anything to do with what you'd do with a breastfed infant. (And all breastfeeding mama's are that smart.

)

I emailed them to tell them to include breastfeeding in the 6-12 month section and to add breastmilk to the list of clear liquids in the 12+ section.

Serrendipity · 11-10-2006, 10:46 AM

This is the email I just sent off. I just wish they sent replies, since I'd love to know what they were gonna do about it....

When I read the "Infants 6 Months to 1 Year" section of this article, I was very disappointed that there was no mention at all of breastfeeding. The AAP recommends breastfeeding for at least one year, and the WHO recommends at least 2 years, so information regarding breastfeeding an infant 6-12 months is not only entirely appropriate for the 6-12 months age range, but to omit such is to leave a potentially dangerous information gap. The language of the article ignorantly assumes that an infant of that age is formula fed, leaving nursing mothers with no experience to wonder if they should adopt the advice set out for formula fed infants, or to not give their babies any breastmilk at all. Either way, it does nursing mothers and their babies a great disservice.

The advice given for the "Infants 0-6 Months" is great that it mentions what to do if your baby is exclusively breastfeeding, but the information is a little incorrectly placed at the bottom of the list since an exclusively breastfed baby does not need any sort of electrolyte solution in addition to breastmilk. Unlike formula, breastmilk is considered to be a "clear liquid" for the situations where vomiting is likely, and unlike a generic electrolyte solution, it is tailor-made by the mother's body for that individual baby's needs better than anything else ever could ever be. Additionally, placing it after the information for formula fed infants implies that it is second best to formula, or that formula feeding is the normal way to feed a baby, something all doctors would agree is not true.

Please update and correct your breastfeeding information in this article. I'm sure these are simply oversights, but I won't be recommending this website to any of my fellow mothers until this problem is fixed. Thank you for reading this.

Sincerely,

Serendipity