What it is
You are sick with a newborn and wondering if you can breastfeed, what you can take, and how to keep the baby from getting it. A cold is not a reason to stop breastfeeding. Your milk is already carrying antibodies against that exact bug.
What's typical
A cold runs five to ten days. Flu and COVID have treatments that work best in the first two days, so call early. Many cold medicines are fine while breastfeeding and a few are not; some decongestants are reported to lower milk supply. A fever of 100.4 or more in the first six weeks after birth may be more than a cold.
What's known
The CDC says mothers with a cold, flu, or COVID can keep breastfeeding. The American Academy of Pediatrics is clear that a fever of 100.4 or more in a baby under three months is an emergency.
What helps
- Feed the baby in bed and let someone else do everything else.
- Wash hands before touching the baby and cough into your elbow.
- Check any medicine against LactMed or ask the pharmacist. Say that you are breastfeeding.
When to call someone
- Now (911 or go in): trouble breathing, chest pain, confusion, or a baby under three months with a temperature of 100.4 or more.
- Todaya fever of 100.4 or more in the first six weeks after birth, flu symptoms, or you cannot keep fluids down.
- At your next visitcolds back to back, or exhaustion that outlasts the illness.
Who helps
Tools: Feeding Prep
Related
- Medications and breastfeeding: how to checkFeeding Your Baby
- Fever in a newborn is an emergencyBaby Basics
- Vaccines: the baby's schedule and who around the babyBaby Basics
- Visitors and boundariesSupport, Home, and Village
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Sources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Breastfeeding when you are sick: influenza and COVID-19 guidance
- National Library of Medicine — LactMed: Drugs and Lactation Database
- American Academy of Pediatrics — HealthyChildren guidance on fever in babies under three months
Sources are named, not yet linked. The steward verifies each one and adds the link.
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