Contents:
- Medical Video: Breastfeeding Position and Latch
- When a baby is sick, does it still need to breastfeed?
- Guide to breastfeeding sick babies
- When your baby has a cold
- When your baby has an ear infection
- When your baby has digestive problems
- If your baby has difficulty breastfeeding
Medical Video: Breastfeeding Position and Latch
Breastfeeding can help protect your baby from disease. However, the possibility of a baby getting sick is still there. Your baby may be exposed to several diseases such as colds, ear infections, stomach aches, or other diseases. When this happens, you may be confused and worried whether you should continue to breastfeed your baby or not. So, what needs to be done when breastfeeding a sick baby? Check out the answer here.
When a baby is sick, does it still need to breastfeed?
Even though your baby is sick, you must continue breastfeeding. Because breastfeeding helps babies:
- Heal faster, because there are natural antibodies in breast milk.
- Stay hydrated (maintained body fluid balance) because breast milk provides nutrients and essential fluids needed by babies.
- Your baby can digest and absorb breast milk more easily than formula milk. Breast milk tends not to make diarrhea or vomiting worse.
- Breastfeeding is a source of comfort for sick children.
Depending on the type of illness, you may see changes in your breastfeeding routine when your baby is sick.
Maybe when breastfeeding a sick baby, the baby will need more comfort and want to breastfeed more often. Maybe also when breastfeeding a sick baby, he wants to stay hugged or stick to the mother's breast for longer. However, your child can also sleep longer because his body is not so good that it only feeds a little.
Guide to breastfeeding sick babies
When your baby has a cold
If your baby has a cold and his nose is blocked, but he can still breastfeed, you don't need to do anything to treat his blocked nose.
However, a stuffy nose often interferes with your baby while breastfeeding. If your child is fussy and does not breastfeed properly, you need to find a way to treat it so that your child is breastfeeding more comfortably.
Here's how to deal with stuffy nose:
- Use a bulb syringe aspirator to gently suck mucus from your baby's nostrils before breastfeeding.
- Nasal drops containing liquid salts (saline water), can be used to help loosen secretions and open the nasal passages.
- Use humidifier, which can help cleanse the nose and make your baby breathe easier. If you don't have humidifierYou can use hot steam instead.
- Try feeding your baby in an upright position.
- If your baby continues to have difficulty breastfeeding, contact your pediatrician.
- Do not give over-the-counter medicines without asking your doctor first.
When your baby has an ear infection
Ear infections in infants can be painful especially during breastfeeding. If your child is in pain, he can only breastfeed briefly at each meal time. So, you need to breastfeed as often as possible.
You also need to pump or remove breast milk between times to breastfeed to reduce breast swelling and maintain your milk supply. Tell your pediatrician if you suspect your baby has an ear infection. The doctor may want to prescribe antibiotics and provide other appropriate care.
When your baby has digestive problems
Indigestion is less common in breastfed babies, but can still occur. Vomiting and diarrhea can be very dangerous for babies because they can cause dehydration.
However, breast milk can help fight diarrhea. Because breast milk is easily digested when your baby is sick. Therefore, if your baby has digestive problems, make sure to breastfeed regularly. This is useful for replacing lost fluids and keeping your baby hydrated.
If your baby has difficulty breastfeeding
Breastfeeding a sick baby may make your baby drink less milk. You can do the following things to overcome them.
- Continue to offer your baby to breastfeed as often as possible.
- Keep an eye on the number of wet diapers and watch for signs of dehydration.
- Your breast pump to prevent breast swelling and maintain your milk supply
