I had food poisoning, should I nurse?

I had food poisoning on Saturday. I ate out during the day(4:30) and nursed the baby at 5:30.

He was terribly fussy and I developed a horrible stomachache. He didn't want to eat again and fell asleep after I gave him some gripe water. At about 10:45pm I became very sick. Vomiting and diarrhea until around 4am. After the first time I vomited (I had woke him up) I fed him without thinking, he ate very little, fell asleep, he slept for a while but then woke up screaming. He was awake for most of the night and very uncomfortable.

We gave him more gripe water and it seemed to help a bit. I finally came to my senses and didn't feed him again. Now he has been on formula for 1 1/2 days. When is it ok to nurse him again? I have asked a number of different agencies and everyone gives me a different answer. One even said to just feed him and if he got sick to take him to the clinic. I don't want to risk his getting sick. It just about knocked me out, I can't imagine what it would do to him.






Dear Kate,

I'm so sorry you have had such a hard time, and even sorrier that you had trouble getting an answer to your question! One would think that would be something any health professional should know the answer to, but as you found out, unfortunately they often don't. You can certainly nurse your baby again! In fact, there was no reason to ever not nurse.

When a mother gets food poisoning, the bacteria stays in her intestinal tract, so the baby is protected from it. If your baby was fussy on the same night that this happened, it was most likely just coincidence, not to mention that babies are very "tuned in" to their mamas. You may notice your milk supply has dropped. That is not unusual after being sick. Nurse your baby a little more often for several days, and it should come back up.


Cher Sealy, RN, BSN, IBCLC, LLLL





 

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