Q: Should I stop breastfeeding if I have a thrush?
Answered by: Dr Balkees Abdul Majeed, Paediatrics & Lactation, Pantai Hospital Penang
Thrush is a common breastfeeding problem. While you can take care of some breastfeeding issues on your own, this isn’t one of them. Thrush is an infection, and it needs treatment. If you notice any of the signs or symptoms of thrush listed below, and you think that you or your baby have thrush, call your doctor and your baby’s doctor right away.
While you can still breastfeed baby during a thrush infection, you can’t store or freeze your milk. Cold temperatures do not kill the yeast cells you carry in your milk during a thrush infection, so it’s possible to reinfect your baby – and yourself – with stored milk pumped during infection.
Thrush can show up on your breasts or in your baby’s mouth. If suddenly breastfeeding becomes very painful for you, or your baby becomes fussy and refuses to breastfeed, check for these signs and symptoms of thrush:
Symptoms of thrush in a mother :
• Burning nipple pain.
• Flaking skin on the nipple or areola.
• Shiny skin on the nipple or areola.
• Painful breasts without tender spots or sore lumps.
• Stabbing pains in the breasts behind the areola.
If you think you have thrush, or you’ve just been diagnosed, you might be nervous about breastfeeding. It’s normal to be worried and a little scared about spreading an infection to your baby. But by the time you realize you have it, your child’s already been exposed and probably has it, too. Or, it may be that your baby had it first and gave it to you.
What does this mean for breastfeeding?
You can continue to breastfeed if you have thrush. It’s safe. However, there may be a few issues that you’ll have to face. Thrush in your baby’s mouth may make it painful for her. Your baby may be fussy and refuse to breastfeed. For you, your nipples and your breasts may hurt very badly. If you can take the pain, you should continue to breastfeed.2 If you need to give your breasts a break while you’re undergoing treatment, you can pump to keep up your breast milk supply until you feel well enough to breastfeed again.
