Breastfeeding could put limitations on your life. You have to watch your diet, your medication, and your hygiene norms. These aspects are essential for both your health and your baby’s health.
But what about the flu shot? If i have the flu will my baby get it? You will naturally wonder if you can get this shot as a nursing mother.
Can I Get A Flu Shot While Breastfeeding?
The flu shot is safe for breastfeeding mothers. Not only that, nursing moms can get this type of vaccination, but it is safe for pregnant women as well as infants older than 6 months.
Your doctor will guide you towards the best way to protect you and your family against the flu, as well as the best treatment if you get this respiratory illness.
Here are a few things to consider regarding influenza and the vaccination in this matter if you are a nursing mom!
- Pregnant women, as well as infants and elderly people, tend to be more at risk of developing severe forms of the flu. Nursing mothers tend to also be at risk since nursing is putting extra stress on a woman’s body. This illness could be mild or severe according to the strength of a person’s immune system. The general symptoms include a sore throat, temperature, stuffed nose, and fatigue.
- Influenza can last for up to a week and, at times, even ten or 14 days. It depends on the severity of the illness as well as the treatment the patient takes. Out of this time frame, the patient might need to spend up to three days in complete bed rest, which interferes with the activities they need to take care of as well. It is essential for a nursing mother to not stop breastfeeding their baby if they have the flu. Breastmilk contains necessary antibodies that will help their immune system fight with this illness. Influenza is not transmitted through breastmilk.
- The flu vaccine is just as important for nursing mothers as it is for other people. Not only that, you will have smaller risks of contracting influenza, but you will protect others in your family from getting infected by you as well. Even if the flu can’t be transmitted to your baby through breastmilk, it is highly contagious through sneezing, coughing, or even just talking. And without a vaccine, you expose yourself as well as the rest of your family to influenza.
- There is also a flu spray that comes in the form of a nasal flu vaccine. This is the form of flu vaccination administrated to children, and it is just as efficient as the shot. However, it doesn’t require any injection. Just like the flu shot, the nasal vaccine should be administrated in the autumn, before the flu season starts. This will help prevent the illness or reduce its severity if significantly.
How to keep baby from getting sick when mom is?
Influenza is common, and we have ways to protect ourselves from it.
As a nursing mother, you should always limit your risks of contracting any illness for both you and your baby.
Children have a weakened immune system that is not well developed in the first months of life. This is why you should offer them the protection they need by protecting yourself first.
Key References
- “Influenza (Flu) | Breastfeeding | CDC”. Accessed June 06, 2020. Link.
- “Nasal Flu Vaccine | Vaccine Knowledge”. Accessed June 06, 2020. Link.
