Introduction
A cold of the mother in the nursing period, above all during the winter months, is not untypical. Despite the cold, the baby may continue to be breastfed and there is no risk of transmitting the pathogens to the baby. The mother’s symptoms should be treated with as few medications as possible, since components of the medication can be transmitted to the baby with breast milk. During the breastfeeding period, a cold can last a few days longer than usual, as breastfeeding puts additional strain on the body.
Can I breastfeed my baby with a cold?
The question of whether one can continue to breastfeed with a cold is to be answered with yes. The pathogens cannot be transmitted via breast milk. The baby even gets antibodies transmitted through breast milk, which protect it from various infections.
Antibodies are proteins that are specifically directed against pathogens and bind to them. In this way, the pathogens are recognized by the immune system and can be fought accordingly. Thus, the baby receives a certain protection from the common cold through the breast milk. If a fever develops in addition to the cold, a doctor should rule out an infection with bacteria, as this would have to be treated with an antibiotic. With some antibiotics it is possible to continue breastfeeding, but this must be discussed with a doctor beforehand.
I have to pay attention to this so that I do not infect my baby
From the mother’s side, a few hygiene measures should be followed to minimize the risk of infection. First, the baby should be kept at a sufficient distance from the mother’s nose–mouth area. Colds are transmitted by droplet infection.
This means that when coughing, sneezing or even breathing normally, the pathogens are swirled around in the air by tiny droplets and can be absorbed by others. A certain distance between mother and child is therefore advisable in order to minimize the risk of transmission. The second transmission route of a cold is a smear infection.
The pathogens are transmitted via direct skin contact, for example from hand to hand. Therefore, thorough hand disinfection before breastfeeding and also generally before contact with the baby is advisable. In addition to hand disinfection, regular hand washing, especially after contact with the oral and nasal mucosa, helps to minimize the pathogens on the skin.
How dangerous is a cold in the breastfeeding period? A mouth guard can stop the transmission of pathogens via droplet infection and theoretically makes sense. However, pathogens are also excreted before the cold symptoms appear, so that the baby has already come into contact with them.
So if a mouthguard is only put on when the symptoms begin, it is already too late. At this time, general hygiene measures and regular hand disinfection are more important. But of course, a mouthguard certainly can’t hurt either, but it should be changed at regular intervals.
Hand disinfection is an important measure to prevent a smear infection from mother to baby. When choosing a disinfectant, it is important to make sure that it is also effective against viruses, as they are the most common triggers of the common cold. The technique of thorough hand disinfection should be researched in advance and it is important to ensure that the disinfectant has a sufficiently long exposure time. This is indicated on the package. Only if the correct technique and sufficient exposure time are followed can it be assumed that all germs on the hands have been killed.
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