Breastfeeding is both an incredibly special opportunity and an enormous responsibility for mothers. However, when mom’s start to feel run down, they often wonder if they should still be breastfeeding their baby even though they are sick.

However, as the sole source of your child’s nourishment during these
important early years, mothers must also be careful to eat a balanced diet and avoid potential toxins that could be transferred through breast milk. This can be difficult when a mother gets sick because it is harder to separate the safe medicines from those that could be harmful.

Don’t let normal illnesses get in the way

Generally, it is safe for mothers to continue breastfeeding when they become ill with common sicknesses such as a cold, flu, fever, or stomach bug. The baby has already been exposed to the virus during the time spent together nursing.

Your body makes antibodies to the illness that can be passed to the baby through your breast milk, so it is a good opportunity to build the little one’s immune system. However, you will want to be careful when selecting medicines to alleviate your symptoms.

Keep the following tips in mind, and of course, if you have any questions, ask your doctor.

• Avoid long-lasting formulas that will stay in your body and your breast milk longer than necessary
• Skip the extra-strength option, it has more of the active ingredient
• Treat only the symptoms you have rather than taking a multi-symptom medication
• Take the medication after you breastfeed and only as often as you need it

If you have other concerns, or a more serious illness such as HIV or Hepatitis, speak with your doctor as breastfeeding may be unsafe for your baby.

Avoid an unplanned pregnancy by understanding your body

There are many fallacies about breastfeeding and pregnancy. For example, you may have heard that you cannot get pregnant if you are breastfeeding. This is not true. You are less fertile while breastfeeding, but you are certainly not infertile.

• Read our full article on how to tell if you are pregnant while breastfeeding

Breastfeeding and ovulation

In order to get pregnant, you must be ovulating. That is, your body must be releasing eggs in order for one of the eggs to be fertilized. After you give birth, your body’s hormonal balance shifts.

The hormones that tell your body to produce milk for the baby also repress the hormones that stimulate ovulation, which means that mothers who breastfeed usually do not get their periods as soon after childbirth as those who do not. However, this situation will not continue indefinitely. Eventually, your period will return, even if you are still breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding and pregnancy

Women usually ovulate two weeks before they have their period, which means that you will be fertile again before you have a period. This can make it challenging to tell if you are pregnant while breastfeeding because you can get pregnant without even having a period after childbirth in the first place.

Additionally, signs that may indicate pregnancy can be confused with breastfeeding side effects, such as sore breasts and fatigue. For this reason, the only way to determine with certainty whether or not you are pregnant while you are breastfeeding is to take a pregnancy test.

You can use an at-home test or go to the doctor and get a blood test. Both types are highly accurate and neither will be affected by breastfeeding.

Maybe, but let’s look at why it can happen

While good health is always important, it becomes particularly important to keep a close eye on your health during a pregnancy. Not only are you responsible for the development and growth of another person, but you may face unusual or unforeseen health issues as a result of the demands pregnancy places on your body.

For this reason, it may be disconcerting to see that your cholesterol levels are higher than usual both during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

Normal fluctuations

The good news is that these elevated cholesterol levels are entirely normal. Most pregnant women see a decrease in their cholesterol during the first trimester followed by higher levels for the remaining two trimesters.

The higher levels often persist while the mother is nursing.

The cholesterol is produced by your liver, which receives hormonal signals telling it to make more cholesterol than usual because you are pregnant. It does not reflect an unhealthy diet or poor health choices.

Cholesterol is important for babies

Cholesterol is a waxy, fatty substance that plays an important role both during pregnancy and nursing. It contributes to neurological development in the infant and is an important way to transfer energy. Cholesterol is able to hold a great deal of calories and can be completely digested by the infant after he or she is born, making it a great way for the baby to get the nourishment and energy needed at this time.

Additionally, the higher levels of cholesterol do not pose a threat to mothers during this period because the cholesterol is used by the body and transferred to the child rather than remaining in arteries to cause problems.

Are you pregnant and still wondering how soon you should start breastfeeding after the baby is born? Well don’t wonder anymore – because the easiest way to start breastfeeding your baby, is to breastfeed as soon as possible after the little one is born.

For full-term babies whose mothers are able to breastfeed, it is recommended that the first feeding take place within the first hour after the baby enters the world.

Why is sooner so much better?

You know that breastfeeding is good for your baby; it helps build immunity and may even aid brain development. But why is it important to start breastfeeding right away?

After all, you just experienced a very draining and demanding physical event as you went through labor. Will it really matter if you wait a little while before jumping into the next challenge? It just might.

Research on this subject supports the benefits of starting your baby on your breast right away for several reasons:

1.      The colostrum you produce in the first few days after delivery is rich with immunity-building antibodies, making your baby more resilient to infections and illness

2.      Babies who experience skin-to-skin contact with their mothers within the first few hours of life and breastfeed have less trouble latching than infants who spend these hours away from their mom. This means that starting earlier will make breastfeeding easier overall.

When your infant has his or her first feeding, your body begins to produce a greater and more consistent milk supply.

Benefits of breastfeeding

There are many reasons why a mother chooses to breastfeed or not to breastfeed. It is very personal decision and one that should be made with careful consideration. However, there are many benefits of breastfeeding to both mother and child from choosing to nourish your little one in this way, all of which are worth considering as you make this decision.

Benefits for the baby

Infants who are breastfed have been shown to experience improved health including a lowered occurrence and risk of certain diseases as well as a more resistant immune system, most likely due to antibodies the baby receives through breast milk. These benefits not only improve the baby’s health during infancy but are believed to improve lifelong health as well.

Some of those benefits include lowered risk or occurrence of the following:

-         Ear infections

-         Diarrhea

-         Bowel conditions

-         Urinary tract infections

-         Obesity

-         Diabetes

-         Asthma

-         Allergies

-         Irritability

Benefits for mother

Mothers also enjoy several benefits when they breastfeed their baby. Some of the benefits mothers cite for choosing to breastfeed include:

-         Less mess (no bottles or formula to mix)

-         Unique bonding experience with the baby

-         Easier weight loss

-         Lower risk of ovarian and breast cancer

-         More energy while breastfeeding

Talk to your doctor if you have questions

If you are unable to breastfeed your infant or choose not to for other reasons, this does not mean that you are making the wrong choice. Talk to your doctor about ways that you can supplement the infant’s immune system and other ways to assist your child’s development.

Diet “Do’s” while breastfeeding

You know that you had to watch what you ate while you were pregnant – certain foods could make you feel nauseated, while others were off-limits because they contained certain ingredients or chemicals that could hurt the developing baby.

However, now that you have gone through childbirth and are preparing to breastfeed your little one, you may be uncertain about the dietary rules for this new phase with your little one.

As with most things in life, moderation is the key

The good news is that there are not a ton of rules about what you have to eat in order to successfully breastfeed. Your body will produce a consistent quantity of high quality milk as long as you eat a varied, nutritious diet. However, certain things can be beneficial to your health and to your baby, so it is a good idea to incorporate them into your diet.

The following list is a few things you may want to keep in mind while breastfeeding:

-         Whole grains are a great source of fiber which can help with constipation

-         Hydration is essential. Breast milk is up to 87% water, so it is easy to get dehydrated when breastfeeding. Try to avoid carbonated drinks because they contain sodium – stick to plain water instead.

-         Fruit is always a good choice. Fruit contains water and fiber along with vitamins and minerals, helping a new mom get many of the things she needs in a single food source.

-         Don’t forget about milk for yourself as well. Both pregnancy and breastfeeding can take calcium from your bones, so be sure to give your body plenty of extra during this time in your life.

Stay tuned for more

In our next blog post – we’ll discuss foods you should avoid while nursing a baby.

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