My daughter has hepatitis C. She does not have the active
disease but is a carrier. She has been advised not to
breastfeed her newborn. Is this good advice? She really
wants to breastfeed. Now she is suffering from breast
engorgement. If she can't breastfeed, are there any remedies
that will help alleviate her discomfort?
-Anon.
Reply to: curfmanl@grapevine.net
====
According to the most recent edition of "Breastfeeding: A
Guide for the Medical Profession" by Ruth Lawrence, MD (5th
ed, 1999), breastfeeding is NOT contraindicated, as long as
the mother has no co-existing infection (i.e.: HIV).
Anti-HCV antibody & HCV-RNA have been found in breastmilk
"... although the levels of HCV-RNA in milk did not
correlate with the titers of HCV-RNA in serum. Nevertheless,
transmission of HCV via breastfeeding (and not in utero,
intrapartum, or from other postpartum sources) has not been
proved in the small number of infants studied... The current
position of the CDC is that no data indicate HCV virus is
transmitted through breast milk. Therefore breastfeeding by
an HIV-negative mother is not contraindicated." p596-597.
The above was excerpted from a much longer explanation. For
more information, I suggest having your daughter call her
local La Leche League leader to find out how to contact the
area's professional liason leader, who should have this same
reference. In addition, your daughter's healthcare
provider/s (doctor, midwife, pediatrician) can call the
Lactation Study Center at Univ. of Rochester Medical School
(716-275-0088 during regular business hours) for more recent
research on this topic.
Another possibility may be to heat-treat her milk to
inactivate any possible viral components, or use donor milk
from a milk bank. Contact the Human Milk Banking Association
of North America (HMBANA) at 508-888-4041 for more info.
-Gabrielle
Reprinted from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 2 Issue 28 July 12, 2000)
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