Breastfeeding when you are ill

In general scenarios, you should definitely breastfeed your baby when you are ill, e.g. if you have fever, headache, stomach ache etc. ( regular illness). It is completely safe to breastfeed baby but for some complicated situation or any particular condition, it is better to check with doctor. e.g. if you have some breast infection, you should consult your gynecologist before taking any call.  

can I take medicines while breastfeeding
breastfeeding with covid-19
what to do if mother on non breastfeed friendly medicines

Can I pass my ailment to baby through breastfeed

You will not pass your ailment to your child via breastmilk but antibodies will definitely be passed through breastmilk. It will protect little one from disease or help her to recover faster if she also gets ill because of exposure to same bacteria or virus that you got exposed to.  

In case of cough or cold, you should wear a mask while feeding because it is contagious disease. 

Can I take medicine while breastfeeding 

Be cautious about medicines you take if you are a breastfeeding mom because not all medicines can be taken while breastfeeding. It can harm your baby so it is always advisable to consult your doctor before taking any medicine (even it is just a painkiller) and do mention to doctor that you are a breastfeeding mother. All medicines are not breastfeed friendly but there are enough breast friendly substitute for most of the medicines. 

Should I breastfeed if I get infected with covid-19

For Covid 19, available research suggest that mother should continue feeding even she gets infected with it because it is not quite clear if baby will get infected with covid-19 or not but this is quite sure that covid-19 antibodies will be passed to baby through breastmilk which will keep him safe from the disease. Just take necessary precautions (wear mask, avoid touching baby). since it is a new disease and medical science is making daily progress on it, I would suggest you to always check WHO, NHS latest recommendation and guidelines before taking any decision.

If you are still not sure about direct breastfeeding (in covid-19 or any other contagious disease like cold or flu), you can give expressed milk to the baby through bottle, spoon, nifty cup or  paladai. It will help you to maintain milk supply and baby will also get his/her share of liquid gold which is a win-win situation for both mother and baby.

What if I am on non-breastfeeding friendly medicines :

If you are taking some medicines that is not breastfeeding friendly, doctor may advise you to stop breastfeeding till the time you are on medication. In that case, please keep pumping milk at regular interval of 2-3 hours so that your milk supply is not affected because milk supply works on demand & supply mechanism. If there is no demand, your body may start reducing milk supply. You can not feed this pumped milk to your child but these days people are doing many innovative things with left out breastmilk e.g. BM soaps, BM jewellery or apply on baby's skin to remove dryness.