In certain situations, health care providers may advise a woman not to breastfeed:
- A woman with certain health conditions, such as HIV or active tuberculosis, should not breastfeed because she risks giving the infection to her infant through her breast milk.
- Women who actively use drugs or do not control their alcohol intake, or who have a history of these situations, may also be advised not to breastfeed.
- Certain medicines, including some mood stabilizers and migraine medicines, can also pass through the breast milk and cause harm to the infant.
- Women with certain chronic illnesses may be advised not to breastfeed, or to take special steps to ensure their own health while breastfeeding. For example, women who have diabetes may need to eat slightly more food while they breastfeed, to prevent their blood sugar levels from dropping.
- Women who have had breast surgery in the past may face some difficulties in breastfeeding.
Please note: engorgement, hardening of the breast, “breast abscess,” fever, and use of pain medications or antibiotics are NOT reasons to stop breastfeeding. In fact, in some cases—such as breast abscess or breast hardening—emptying of the breast helps to relieve the problem.
If a mother stops breastfeeding before the child is a year old, then she should feed her infant iron-fortified, commercially available formula. Health care providers advise women not to give their infants cow's milk until the child is at least a year old.
If you have any health conditions, or you are taking any medications or over-the-counter supplements, you should discuss breastfeeding with your health care provider.