120 Breastfeeding
➤ If you have HIV,
see page 293 for
information about
breastfeeding and HIV.
➤ Get treatment
right away for any
serious disease
caused by infection,
like TB, typhoid or
cholera, so it does
not spread to
the baby.
165
eating for good health
When the mother is sick
If she can, it is almost always better for a sick mother to
breastfeed her baby than to feed other foods too soon. If
you have a high fever and sweat a lot, you may make less milk.
To keep producing enough milk, drink plenty of liquid and
continue to breastfeed often. If it is more comfortable for you,
breastfeed in the lying-down position (see page 107).
If you need to stop breastfeeding for a few days, remove the
milk by hand (if necessary someone can help you).
To prevent passing any infection to the baby, wash your hands
well with soap and water before touching your baby or breasts.
When the mother needs medicine
Most medicines pass into breast milk in very small and weak
amounts, so they do not harm the baby. It is usually more
harmful to the baby to stop breastfeeding.
There are a few drugs that cause side effects. In this book
we have marked these medicines with a warning and suggest
other medicines that will be safer (see the “Green Pages”).
If a health worker tells you to take a medicine, remind her
that you are breastfeeding so that a safe one can be selected.
When a woman becomes pregnant or gives
birth to another child
If a nursing mother becomes pregnant, she can
continue to breastfeed. Since breastfeeding
and pregnancy take a lot from her own
body, she should eat plenty of good foods.
It is also safe to continue breastfeeding
an older child when a woman has a
new baby. The new baby should be
fed before the older child.
It is safe to
breastfeed when
you are pregnant.
A woman with a new baby and an older
baby can safely breastfeed both of them.
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012