What can I do to protect my baby during flu season?

Take everyday precautions such as washing your hands with soap and warm water or using an alcohol-based hand rub before feeding your baby. In addition, try not to cough or sneeze in the baby's face while feeding your baby (or any other time you and your baby are close.) If possible, only family members who are not sick should care for infants. If you are sick and there is no one else to care for your baby, wear a facemask, if available and tolerable, and cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.

Is it OK for me to feed my baby if I am sick?

Infants are thought to be at higher risk for severe illness from 2009 H1N1 infection, and very little is known about prevention of 2009 H1N1 flu infection in this age group. If you are breastfeeding or giving your baby infant formula, a cautious approach would be to protect your baby from exposure to the flu virus in the following ways:

• If possible, ask for help from someone who is not sick to feed and care for your baby.
• If there is no one else who can take care of your baby while you are sick, try to wear a face mask at all times when you are feeding or caring for your baby. You should also be very careful about washing your hands and taking everyday precautions to prevent your baby from getting the flu. Placing a cloth blanket between you and your baby during feedings might also help.
• If you are breastfeeding, someone who is not sick can give the baby your expressed milk. Ideally, babies younger than about 6 months of age should get their feedings from breast milk. It is alright to take medicines to treat the flu while you are breastfeeding.

Does breastfeeding protect babies from 2009 H1N1?

There are many ways that breastfeeding and breast milk protect babies' health. Babies who are not breastfed get sick from infections like the flu more often and more severely than babies who are breastfed. Since this is a new virus, we don’t know yet about specific protection against it. Mothers pass on protective antibodies to their babies during breastfeeding. Antibodies, a type of protein made by the immune system in the body, help fight off infection.

Should I stop breastfeeding if I think I have come in contact with the flu?

No. Because mothers make antibodies to fight diseases with which they come in contact, their milk is custom-made to fight the diseases their babies are exposed to as well. This is really important in young babies when their immune systems are still developing. If you develop flu symptoms, you should ask someone who is not sick to care for your baby, if possible. If you become sick, someone who is not sick can give your baby your expressed milk.

Is it OK to take medicine to treat or prevent 2009 H1N1 while breastfeeding?

Yes. Mothers who are breastfeeding and taking medicine to treat flu because they are sick should express their breast milk for bottle feedings, which can be given to their baby by someone who is not sick. Mothers who are breastfeeding and taking medicines to prevent the flu because they have been exposed to the virus should continue to feed their baby at the breast as long as they do not have symptoms of the flu such as fever, cough or sore throat.

If my baby is sick, can I breastfeed?

Yes. One of the best things you can do for your sick baby is to keep breastfeeding.

• Give your baby many chances to breastfeed throughout the illness. Babies who are sick need more fluids than when they are well. The fluid babies get from breast milk is better than anything else even better than water, juice, or Pedialyte® because it also helps protect your baby's immune system.
• If your baby is too sick to breastfeed, he or she can drink your milk from a cup, bottle, syringe or eye-dropper.

This information is provided by Clarian Health and was adapted from the CDC's "Novel H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) and Feeding Your Baby: What Parents Should Know." For more information on the H1N1 virus, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site.