Can women with swine flu breastfeed? How about if they take medicine?
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that mothers with swine flu breastfeed. Mothers with flu symptoms (high fever, cough and dizziness) can help protect their babies by washing their hands often, and wearing a mask when handling the baby. By the time symptoms appear, the virus has been in the body for several days. Mothers milk also contains antibodies to illnesses that the mother is currently fighting. Weaning deprives your baby of these antibodies. The CDC also states that mothers who take prescription flu medicines should continue to breastfeed.
