Mothers with
chronic illnesses.
If you have a chronic health condition, you will know the
importance and value of rest and lowering stress. There
are no contraindications to breastfeeding for mothers with
chronic disease but an awareness of the physical toll of
the illness and caring for a newborn is important.
Seek help and organize support with household
chores before the birth of your baby so that you can spend
valuable time bonding with your baby and getting breastfeeding
off to a good start. Being overly fatigued may exacerbate
your symptoms.
Good quality rest. Your baby will be waking during
the night so don’t rely on night time for your own
sleep. Take naps during the day.
Depression is more common in mothers who
suffer with chronic health concerns so accepting help and
support early on will go a long way in preventing depression.
Seek help should you start to feel overwhelmed and tired.
Medications. There are very few medications
that are contraindicated during breastfeeding. If you have
any concerns, contact your Lactation Consultant, public
health nurse or health care provider. Website resources
such as www.motherisk.org
and www.e-lactancia.org
are valuable. Also, Medications and Mother’s Milk
by Dr. Thomas Hale will list any pharmaceutical incompatibilities.
Sometimes, even breastfed babies become sick. To provide
optimal recovery and prevention of complications, it is
important to continue breastfeeding and protect your milk
supply. Breastfeeding is important to your baby when he
is sick because, even though he may not drink as well, he
is benefitting from the comfort of being close to you.
Cold or Flu
If your baby has a stuffy nose, congestion or has an ear
infection, he may not want to breastfeed as often, due to
breathing difficulties or discomfort. Breastfeeding may
be more comfortable for him if he is held in an upright
position in a room with a vaporizer. Offer him short frequent
feeds but if he refuses, you can express your milk and give
it to him on a spoon, dropper or in a cup. Follow the baby’s
cues; he may not want to nurse as frequently as before so
allow him to guide you.
It is important to protect your milk supply during this
time so you will need to pump, following your previous feeding
schedule to prevent becoming overfull and uncomfortable.
Diarrhea
The ‘normal’ appearance of a breastfed babies
stools is yellow, green/yellow, seedy and liquid in consistency.
If the number of soiled diapers increases to 12- 16 a day
with an offensive odor and your baby seems upset and restless,
seek help from your Lactation Consultant , public health
nurse or healthcare provider. Your baby may have a sensitivity
to something in your diet. If it is a mild case of diarrhea,
continued breastfeeding will replace any fluids lost but
if the situation worsens and you notice signs of dehydration;
lethargy, minimal urine output, listlessness and weak cry,
your baby should be checked for an intestinal infection
or metabolic disorder.
Baby with Physical Challenges or Chronic Illness
Breastfeeding is less stressful for babies than bottle feeding.
The ‘suck, swallow, breathe’ pattern at the
breast allows the baby to breathe while continuing to nurse.
This is not true of bottle feeding which can cause fatigue.
You will need good lactation support while breastfeeding
an infant with health challenges. There are many different
breastfeeding positions that will help you and discussion
of the management of breastfeeding your infant will help
you to achieve your own breastfeeding success. The unique
bond and attachment provided through breastfeeding is of
vital importance to you and your baby with special needs.
See “ Finding Support” section on this website.
[top] |
