[paula444four]

Unfortunately I am on antibiotics (gasp) for severe mastitis. I bought a bottle of probiotic capsules to take 2 hours after each antibiotic pill in hopes to avoid yeast/thrush/other antibiotic causing yuckiness. Can I just crack open the capsule and give my 3 week old, healthy daughter some? She is EBF. How much can I give her? I was too cheap to buy an infant formula...but will do if you all recommend it. The probiotics I am taking are: Natural Factors Acidophilus & Bifidus 5 billion active cells in each capsule. Other ingredients:lactose, whey, goats milk, gelatin (capsule so she would not get this), pectin & magnesium stearate ( vegetable grade).

So can I and how much how often? Thanks for your advice>

Paula

 

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

Be careful if it contains any milk product...i think the only one out there is Kirkmans...they dont have any milk product in them at all.

 

[didelphus]

She will get lots via your milk.

 

[jeliphish]

why not just continue to BF her? Breast milk should be all she needs. I would be wary to give her anything else.

 

[tinyblackdot]

If you take them and then BF she will be getting plenty....or i have heard of mamas that open the capsule and sprinkle a bit on their nipples before feeding.

 

[allnaturalmom]

IMO: No, I would not give that to a 3wo infant. Infants have different gut flora than adults. Use a formula specifically designed for an infant. According to kellymom.com they need more bifidoxxxx than acidophilus. Compare labels and you will see they are different. (We used Natren's life start powder when my dd was hospitalized at 8wo and had to have antibiotics. Worked like magic. We also tried Udo's infant formula, but it kept coming back up.)

Those other ingredients would scare me, too. Lactose, whey, milk... ugh... There's nothing even broken down there for an infant to digest. I don't think I'd chance it especially if there was an infant-specific formula available to me.

So, to sum it up... I would give the infant formulated probiotic.

gl
hth
Hope you're feeling better soon! And remember to continue taking/using the probiotics even after you've finished your antibiotic. I would continue for at least a week or more.