Breastfeeding and I Have a Fever of 102

You should not be able transmit any illness through breast milk, the only thing you have to be concerned about is any medication you take CAN and DOES transfer through milk. Feel better!

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Hi C.,
I'm a 52 year old mom of four, one grandbaby. I breastfed all our children, even when i was sick. Have you ever had mastitis before? It's where your milk ducts are clogged and it feels like you have the flu. I was always instructed by my midwives to nurse the baby on the sore side, while massaging the breast at the same time. A hot pack helps too. Contact your local La Leche League. They have wonderful, free advice and good support.
Good luck, I'll pray for you...
C.

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* Yes it is perfectly fine to Breastfeed while you have a fever! If anything it is important to BF while you have a fever - whatever is caussing your fever right now, your body is making it's defense's against, which are then carried in your breastmilk to your baby. You are building his immune system.

* Your sick. Give yourself a break form the pumping.And drink LOTS of WATER. You can go back to pumping some for the freezer after you get over this fever- but in the meantime your really taxing yourself. Remeber to take care of yourself momma! Rest up, drink lots of water, and just nurse the baby. Thats all you should need to worry about when your sick.

* What medications are you taking right now? Some over the counter drugs can effect your supply. Check out this link http://www.kellymom.com/health/index.html
(BTW, I recomned Kellymom for any breastfeeding question. It is chock full of great info!)

* at 5 months old Breastmilk should be your son's main/major source of nutrition. Babyfoods and table foods are just an adventure to him. A new taste, a new texture. So if he wants to try more , go ahead, let him try. But they cannot match breastmilk in nutrition or calories, so remeber not to let his expirmenting and learning with new foods replace any of your nursing sessions. A good idea is to nurse 1st, then set him up with some baby food.

*Remember that nursing is supply and demand. Right now you are sick, possibly dehydrated, and just asking alot of your body overall. So it would be best that you drop the pumping untill you are feeling better.
Whne you start pumping again you may not be getting as much initially as you were. But it will build back up. Start out at 1x a day again, at your fullest, eat lots of oatmeal, drink lots of water, and buy a bottle of Fenugreek and some mother's milk tea to have on hand. :)

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C., actually it's important to continue BF when you have a fever or are sick because your breastmilk contains antibodies to whatever infection or virus you have. That protects your baby from getting infected or getting as sick. And since you're around your baby, he needs the protection!! So keep on nursing! :)

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this happened to me...DON'T STOP NURSING! he most likely will catch what you have, b/c you are transferring it thru your breastmilk....therefore, he needs your antibodies to help him fight it...which will come thru your breastmilk. i stopped just like you, and my dr. scolded me b/c i didn't know the effects of what i was doing.

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It's perfectly fine to breastfeed when you've got a fever. :)

As for milk production, you're body is prolly dehydrated due to the fever, which is why the low milk. To increase your milk supply, up your water intake for the dehydration and eat oats for your milk supply. Cheerios, oatmeal, oatmeal cookies are the ones I used. It works like a charm! But go easy--cause sometimes you can wind up with too much! LOL!

Best of wishes,
M.

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You can still BF. Just be careful about passing it on to the baby. If you can, have somebody else take care of the little one until he needs to nurse. That way it reduces the amount of contact to the germs, the baby gets his milk, and you get the rest that you need to get well. If you don't take care of your self, then you can't take care of them. Don't worry about the amount you pump out right now. Drink your fluids and they should go back up. Make sure that if yuou are taking meds, that they are okay to take. Watch out for meds that dry you up, example, benadryl, sudifed(sp?), etc. Good luck and GET SOME REST!!

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It is perfectly safe to nurse while feverish. You may see a dip in supply because you are probably not taking in enough fluids. Drink more water if you can and treat yourself to some ice cream. You and your baby will be okay, just hang in there.

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Check to see if you have mastitis! Here is a link for it. Hopefully that is not the case, but if so, you need to get it taken care of now... Here is what Dr. Sears says on askdrsears.com

* Part or all of the breast is intensely painful, hot, tender, red, and swollen. Some mothers can pinpoint a definite area of inflammation, while at other times the entire breast is tender.

* You feel tired, run down, achy, have chills or think you have the flu. A breastfeeding mother who thinks she has the flu probably has mastitis. Mothers with mastitis will sometimes experience these flu-like symptoms, even before they get a fever or notice breast tenderness.

* You have chills or feel feverish, or your temperature is 101F or higher. These symptoms suggest that you have an infection.

* You are feeling progressively worse, your breasts are growing more tender, and your fever is becoming more pronounced. With simple engorgement, a plugged duct, or mastitis without infection, you gradually feel better instead of worse.

* Recent events have set you up for mastitis: cracked or bleeding nipples, stress or getting run down, missed feedings or longer intervals between feedings.

Email me if you think you have this and want some more information. I'm not a nurse, but a mom who has been through this and wish I had been prepared.

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It's absolutely fine to breastfeed when you are ill. In fact, it helps pass on anitbodies that will help your baby fight off future colds, etc. If you are taking medication you may want to check if that could affect your output. However, keep breastfeeding (pumping sometimes gives you less than you would like due to pump being less effective than baby sucking) Drink lots of fluids--often times when moms are sick it's their diet and low fluid intake that will effect the amount of milk.

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you could be dehydrated from having the fever. Just drink tons of water and keep breastfeeding.

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The fever will be draining you of all your fluids so you will see a decrease in milk production. Just up your intake, even if you feel like you are floating...and it should pick back up. :o)

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When I was breastfeeding my son I got a fever. They told me to keep breastfeeding. The breast milk gives the baby the antibodies to fight what you have.

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My doctors have always told me it was best to breastfeed during any and every illness no matter what (cold, fever, bronchitis, everytime I've been sick). You most likely won't get the baby sick, and if he has already caught it or is coming down with it it is better because you are passing the antibodies you are developing to this particular disease on to him. Take a break from pumping and just rest as much as you can.

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C.,
It is fine to breastfeed when you have a fever. In fact, it's important to keep bfing as much as possible to keep your supply up. I think the only time to be concerned about NOT breastfeeding is if you are taking medication that is not compatible with it, and then ask your doctor.
Just keep breastfeeding as much as you can!
Hope you feel better soon!

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If milk production doesn't pick up now that your fever has broken definately call your doctor. Mastisis (clogged ducts) is what I had and I ran a fever of 104. The doctor had lots of suggestions but it is still important that he know what is going on with you. You don't want to jeapordize either one of you. :) God Bless! and good luck.

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C.,

Keep breastfeeding babies get antibodies from mommy while breastfeeding and is less likely to get sick. It sounds like you are stressed and sometimes stress can cause let down and production problems. Try to relax. Earth mama Angel baby has some wonderful products. One such is milk maid tea; it helps with milk production. I'm still pregnant with #4 and haven't tried the tea yet, but thier other items work beautifully and so I expect the milk maid tea will work just as well. www.earthmamaangelbaby.com

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