Breastfeeding While the Baby Is Sick

breastfeeding

Breastfeeding can help protect your baby from getting sick, however it cannot completely avert some of the common illnesses of infancy. At some point, your kid may get an ear infection, develop an upset stomach, or catch a cold. When this takes place, the best thing you can do is continue to breastfeed.

How breastfeeding helps when a child is sick?

Antibodies in breast milk can shorten the length of an illness and permit your baby to recover more rapidly. Breast milk gives essential fluids and nutrition that your baby needs to stay hydrated. Breast milk is easily absorbed and digested by the child. Nursing is a great source of comfort to a sick baby. It doesn’t cause vomiting or diarrhea to get worse.

When your child has a cold:

If your child has a cold and a stuffy nose, but a woman can breastfeed OK, you don’t have to do anything to treat her stuffy nose. But, a nose that is stuffy can often make breastfeeding harder. As infants breathe through their nose, it can be annoying for the baby as she tries to nurse and breathe at the same time. If your baby is picky at the breast and not nursing properly, in order to make breastfeeding more comfortable for her, mother can try to ease the nasal congestion.

How to deal with nasal congestion:

  • Hot, moist air from humidifier can assist help clear the nose and make it easier for your baby to breathe. If you do not have a humidifier, stream can work as humidifier. You just have to sit in the bathroom with child while you run a hot shower.
  • Saline nose drop can be used to help loosen mucus and open the nasal passages for infants.
  • Try nursing your baby is an upright position.
  • If your child continues to have a difficult times breastfeeding, contact your pediatrician.
  • Avoid giving your baby any medication without prescription or without consulting the physician.

How a child’s sickness Affects Breastfeeding:

  • Depending on the baby and illness, there may be change in your routine of breastfeeding when your child is sick, which you may notice. A child who is sick may need more comfort and want to breastfeed more frequently or stay at the breast for a longer time at each feeding.
  • Or, your child may not feel well, breastfeed less and sleep more.

If your child is breastfeeding less:

  • Continue to offer the breastfeed often particularly for a younger infant
  • Keep an eye on the number of wet diapers and watch for signs of dehydration
  • Pump or hand expresses your breast milk to avert breast engorgement and maintain your milk supply.
  • When to notify your baby’s pediatrician:

The child isn’t wetting her diaper:

  • If your child is only producing a small amount of dark, concentrate urine, that’s a concern. It’s a sign that your baby is becoming dehydrated and not breastfeeding well.

Your baby has a fever:

  • A fever is a sign of an infection. You can continue to breastfeed but call the physician. Your baby may need an antibiotic.

Your baby is not breastfeeding properly:

  • If you detect a change in your infant’s routine of breastfeeding and unexpectedly your child is not nursing properly or rejecting nurse, you must notify the physician immediately. Poor feeding in infants can be sign of sickness. It can as well quickly lead to dehydration.

Your child is vomiting:

  • If the vomiting takes place after most feedings in your child, it’s a sign that something is not right. Contact the physician or GYN or take your infant to an emergency room.
This entry was posted in Women's Health and tagged baby tips, Breastfeeding, health care

One thought on “Breastfeeding While the Baby Is Sick

  1. My child’s feeding habits changed for real after he caught a cold. The saline nose drop is too difficult to use with kids I feel. Many other tips were helpful but