Sims 4 nipples with tube top
These considerations are only some of the variables to be taken into account, in general, to assess the risk for transmission of an infectious agent from mother to infant via breast milk or breastfeeding. The duration of breastfeeding is another important variable to consider in the estimate of risk because shedding of a pathogen in breast milk may be intermittent. Timing of breastfeeding is important relative to the timing of maternal infection and to the presence of a pathogen in colostrum or breast milk. To determine a reasonable estimate of the risk for infection via breast milk, larger epidemiologic studies are needed that compare infection rates in breastfed infants versus formula-fed infants, addressing the issues just identified. It is essential to exclude prenatal or perinatal transmission of infection to a fetus/infant, but doing this can often be difficult.Ĭlinical case reports or studies confirming the isolation of an infectious agent from the milk are important.
Demonstration of a subclinical or clinically evident infection in an infant should follow these outlined steps.Įxclusion of other possible mechanisms of transmission (exposure to mother or other persons/animals via airborne, droplet, arthropod, or vector modes of transmission or through direct contact with other infectious fluids) would complete the confirmation of transmission of infection via breastfeeding. A reasonable mechanism of infection via breast milk should be evident and proved through either animal or human studies. Infectious organisms can reach the breast milk either by secretion in the fluid or cellular components of breast milk or by contamination of the milk at the time of or after expression. Epidemiologic evidence of transmission must be considered, including identifying characteristics of the organism that relate an isolate from an infant to the maternal isolate. Isolation or identification of the infectious agent from the colostrum, breast milk, or an infectious lesion of the breast is important but not necessarily proof of transmission to an infant. The first step is to establish the occurrence of a specific infection (clinically or immunologically evident) in a mother and demonstrate the persistence of the infectious agent such that it could be transmitted to the infant.
Decisions concerning breastfeeding in a mother with an infectious illness should balance the potential benefits of breastfeeding versus the known or estimated risk for the infant acquiring a clinically significant infection via breastfeeding and the potential severity of the infection.ĭocumenting transmission of infection from mother to infant by breastfeeding requires not only the exclusion of other possible mechanisms of transmission but also the demonstration of the infectious agent in the breast milk and a subsequent clinically significant infection in an infant that was caused by a plausible infectious process. Uncertainty and lack of knowledge often lead to proscribing against breastfeeding out of fear, which then deprives the infant of the potential protective, nutritional, and emotional benefits of breastfeeding exactly at the time when they are most needed (see the discussion of immunologic benefits of human milk in Chapter 5).
The fear and anxiety that arise with the occurrence of any infectious disease are even greater in the situation of the breastfeeding mother-infant dyad. A large body of evidence clearly demonstrates the protective effects of breastfeeding and documents the transmission of specific infections to infants through breast milk.