Diseases and Conditions
When should a mother avoid breastfeeding?
Health professionals agree that human milk provides the most complete form of nutrition for infants, including premature and sick newborns. However, there are rare exceptions when human milk is not recommended. Under certain circumstances, a physician will need to make a case-by-case assessment to determine whether a woman's environmental exposure or her own medical condition warrants her to interrupt or stop breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding is NOT advisable if one or more of the following conditions is true: |
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For additional information, visit American Academy of Pediatrics' Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk or read: American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs. (2001) The transfer of drugs and other chemicals into human milk. Pediatrics 108:776-789. Available online at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/108/3/776 |
For information regarding substances and conditions which affect human milk, read Lawrence RA, Lawrence R. (2005) Breastfeeding: A guide for the medical professional, 6th Edition. St. Louis: Mosby.
Specific Diseases and Conditions
- Anthrax
- Breast Augmentation
- Exposure to Environmental Toxins
- Food-borne and Waterborne Illness during Breastfeeding
- Hepatitis B and C
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus (AIDS)
- Jaundice
- Malaria
- Prescription Drug Use
- Tobacco Use
- Toxoplasmosis
- West Nile Virus
Contact Us:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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