Swine flu: charity recommends breastfeeding
Updated on 31 July 2009
New mothers with swine flu are being urged to carry on breastfeeding their babies following confusion over the issue.
The Breastfeeding Network charity said it had received dozens of calls from worried women told to stop breastfeeding by their GP or midwife.
Lesley Backhouse, Breastfeeding Network chair of directors, said the charity understood experts were in "a difficult position" and were wary about giving "hard and fast" advice.
She said: "However, what we know is that, at the moment, H1N1 is transmitted like normal winter flu - by sneezing and direct contact.
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"Mothers pass antibodies to infections they have had through their breastmilk and so help the baby fight those infections.
"For a mother who is otherwise healthy to stop breastfeeding because she has swine flu is such a shame, for her and her baby.
"If a mother is ill, she should continue breastfeeding as normally as possible. If she becomes too ill to feed then expressing milk may still be possible.
"If the baby does become ill with swine flu then breastmilk makes an ideal food as it is easily digestible and will provide additional comfort for the baby too.
"Babies who are ill sometimes want lots of short feeds."
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Ms Backhouse said babies who are breastfed are much less likely to need hospital treatment for severe chest infections than bottle-fed babies.
She added: "What has also been shown in a recent study of almost 16,000 babies is that, once babies stop being breastfed, this protection wears off."
Mothers taking antiviral drugs to combat swine flu should also carry on breastfeeding.
She said: "Breastfeeding mothers can continue breastfeeding as normal while receiving antiviral treatment, because the amount in her milk is too low to affect the baby."
