Is breast milk nutritious regardless of whether the mother is healthy?

Answer 1

In general, yes.

A malnourished mother can still provide adequate nutrition for her baby.

Although it is advisable not to smoke while pregnant or nursing, if the mother will not or cannot quit smoking, her breastmilk is STILL better for the baby than formula.

Many medications are compatible with breastfeeding, and for most medical conditions a treatment can be found that is appropriate for a nursing mother.

The anitbodies that a nursing mother makes to illnesses she contracts are passed on to the baby through her breastmilk. Recently everyone in my house got a stomach virus, except my nursing 7 month old. First my older two children got it, then me, then my husband, but the baby never got sick- The only explanation is the immune protection she gained from my breastmilk.

For HIV positive mothers, there is a risk of transmitting HIV to the baby either during birth or via breastmilk. However, expressed breastmilk can be heat treated (pasteurized) and fed to the infant via a bottle. This eliminates the risk of HIV transmission through the breastmilk, and pasteurized breastmilk is still far superior nutritionally to infant formula.

Answer 2

For the most part I say yes. If a mother isn't health her milk will still be better than several types of formula. Breast milk nourishes and lowers incidence of certain diseases and aids mental and physical development during infancy and can have effects later in life. In countries where the water supply may be contaminated mothers with HIV\AIDS are told to breastfeed instead of using formula which may be mixed with questionable water.

Answer 3

YES!!!

It doesn't matter how malnourished the mother is-her body will take from her own bodily stores to produce a nutrious milk for her infant. Even women in 3rd world countries breastfeed their babies.

What happens is the mother herself suffers from her malnutrtion. The body will take what it needs for the breastmilk and the mom gets what left.

There are very few condtions/reason why a woman can not breastfeed. Contact you local LLL www.LLL.org or a LC if you are concerned about breaastfeeding with a condtion.

www.kellymom.com has wonderful info on medications that are safe while breastfeeding (you can take many medications while breastfeeding that are not safe for a pregnant woman)

Answer 4

That's an interesting question. I've heard some medications etc can be passed to a child in breast milk but I've never heard of any mother that was advised to avoid breastfeeding....

Answer 5

Due to privacy laws, the hospital won't just tell you what you need to know... did the other Mom have hepatitis or something like that? You will need to sue them to 1) pay a lawyer who'll force them to tell you the other person's history, 2) teach them a lesson to fix their method of identifying milk, etc. 3)pay for tests, future tests, and I hope never a need for treatment against something like hepatitis, herpes, HIV, or any of a large, nasty sort of problem 4) pay for mental duress over worrying what my come to pass.

Answer 6

yes..for example: If a mother is HIV positive that can be passed to baby during birth and if a mother is using drugs after she has given birth ans is breastfeeding those side effects can also effect baby...cuz it is passed through the milk

Answer 7

NO! You are what you eat. So if the mother is not healthy the baby will silently suffer. If mom is lacking important nutrients the baby will be deprived of them too. Also, don't ever let a doctor tell you to drink beer or wine to produce more breast milk. Even though it works it can still effect the baby. So find foods rich in yeast instead of getting your baby drunk and killing it's brain cells and destroying other vital organs.

Answer 8

THIS IS THE BEST QUESTION I HAVE SEEN ON HERE SERIOUSLY.

AS FAR AS RESEARCH GOES I DO NOT KNOW BUT IN MY OPINION YES. BECASUE JUST LIKE WHEN YOU ARE PREGGERS YOUR BODY WILL TAKE THE NUTRIENTS YOU HAVE AN GIVE TO THE BABY REGARDLESS. SO I THINK YES.

Answer 9

For the most part, yes. When a woman is sick her body makes anti-bodies which are passed to the baby and help prevent them from getting sick.

Answer 10

I will tell you that it will depend upon a number of variables. Also, it may be dependent upon what medications she is taking. Some drugs pass throught the barrier protecting the infant. You should discuss this with your doctor.