I am breast-feeding and have been prescribed an anti-viral medication for 2009 H1N1 Flu. Can I continue to breast feed my infant?
Women who are breast feeding and have been prescribed anti-viral medications to treat flu-like symptoms should express their milk for bottle feedings by a healthy family member, if possible. Women who have been prescribed anti-viral medications to help prevent the flu because they have been exposed to the virus can continue breast feeding as long as they do not have symptoms of the flu. (For additional information on breastfeeding and 2009 H1N1 flu, see precautions discussed in the previous section.) Note: The risk for 2009 H1N1 flu transmission through breast milk is unknown, but reports of seasonal flu infection in the bloodstream are rare. If either you or your baby is ill, the CDC recommends that you do NOT stop breastfeeding.
