Is there any time when a woman shouldn’t breast-feed?
A. Most common illnesses, such as colds, flu, skin infections, or diarrhea, cannot be passed through breast milk. In fact, if a mother has an illness, her breast milk will contain antibodies to it that will help protect her baby from those same illnesses. A few viruses can pass through breast milk, however. HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is one of them. Women who are HIV positive should not breast-feed. A few other illnesses–such as herpes, hepatitis, and beta streptococcus infections–can also be transmitted through breast milk, but that doesn’t always mean a mother with those diseases shouldn’t breast-feed.
