Patient's question:
Baby is three and a half months old, mother has a cold. Can I feed the baby with milk?Doctor's answer:
Hello, if your mom has a cold and a fever, and it's not high fever with persistent high temperature and significant energy depletion, she can still breastfeed her child. Because during daily contact, the child has inevitably been exposed to the bacteria carried by the mother and has developed some antibodies against it. So, for common colds and fevers, the mother can still breastfeed her baby with peace of mind. However, it's important to drink more water to prevent the milk from becoming too concentrated, which could cause diarrhea in the child. Some mothers with colds may experience a decrease in milk production. In such cases, you can breastfeed the child more frequently, and the milk supply will usually return to normal after a few days. If the cold is severe, with persistent high fever and significant energy depletion, the mother should stop breastfeeding. The milk can be expressed, boiled, and then fed to the child, or the child can be given formula milk for a period of time.