Diarrhea in a nursing mother: what to do, safe methods of treatment

A child in a family is a joy for everyone. With the appearance of a crumb, a woman has new chores, worries, duties. With the birth of a baby, a woman is obliged to monitor her health, revise her eating habits. If the mother of the newborn has chosen to breastfeed, it is worth carefully considering the diet.

It happens that, after eating a spoiled product, a woman has stomach upset (diarrhea). Often, young mothers get lost in such situations. Diarrhea causes difficulties in deciding whether to continue breastfeeding the baby or immediately interrupt breastfeeding during treatment? Would it be harmful to the health of the baby if you do not stop breastfeeding in case of a disorder? How to treat the disorder so as not to harm the child?

Causes of diarrhea in a nursing mother

A number of factors are known that provoke the occurrence of diarrhea in nursing mothers. After pregnancy and childbirth, the female body weakens, the immunity weakens, and as a result of the change in the regime of the young mother, constant fatigue and exacerbation of chronic diseases appear. This is a common cause of indigestion.

Doctors identify 6 causes of diarrhea:

1. Intestinal irritation syndrome. In this case, there is no vomiting or hyperthermia, diarrhea worries the woman in the daytime. In a state of sleep, the intestines relax, and the symptoms of the disease disappear. After awakening, the pathology resumes.
2. Toxic infection manifests itself when there is a violation of the rules of hygiene and sanitation by a nursing mother. Eating spoiled food or using bad foods, a woman leads herself to intestinal infection. Acute diarrhea appears due to ingestion of salmonella, shigella, cocci. The disease manifests itself with diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, an increase in temperature occurs, a woman experiences weakness.
3. Food allergy. Leads to indigestion in a nursing mother. This is due to damage to the intestinal mucosa by allergens.
4. Stress can trigger an upset stomach. When a person is nervous, there is an increased release of adrenaline, which affects the digestive tract (gastrointestinal tract).
5. Medications. Taking a number of medications can lead to persistent dysbiosis, diarrhea begins.
6. Eating disorder. If the regime is violated, a woman's food intake fails - this leads to an exacerbation of chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, a malfunction of the intestines occurs, provoking diarrhea.

Diarrhea symptoms

When a person has loose stools once a day, do not sound the alarm, this is not a sign of diarrhea. But frequent urge to defecate, accompanied by an unreasonable rise in temperature, the appearance of a urge to vomit, and frequent nausea are alarming signs for a nursing mother. Symptoms of diarrhea include manifestations: rumbling in the abdominal cavity, headache, constant fatigue, drowsiness. It is necessary to pay attention to these symptoms so as not to miss the onset of the disease.

The most serious symptoms of diarrhea

Every woman during lactation is obliged to know dangerous symptoms that require immediate hospitalization. These include:

• black stool;
• the appearance in feces of green streaks, mucus;
• loss of consciousness;
• diarrhea more often 5 times a day, stomach ache;
• the duration of the diarrhea does not stop for a long time;
• body temperature rises above normal.

Important! If you see such symptoms, see a doctor IMMEDIATELY!

Danger of diarrhea for infants during lactation

With careful hygiene, you should not worry too much and be afraid that the infection will get to the child. The infection enters the baby's body through the mouth. If a woman's diarrhea is not associated with poisoning or illness, diarrhea is more dangerous for the mother than for the child.

Danger of diarrhea for a nursing mother

Due to frequent bowel movements in the woman's body, dehydration occurs, most of the beneficial microorganisms, vitamins, salts are washed out of the body. The woman weakens, becomes lethargic. In case of refusal of treatment, diarrhea leads to serious complications. You cannot take pills without a doctor's prescription.

If the mother's temperature rises, the baby is stopped feeding, the baby is artificially fed while the mother's therapy continues.

Treatment of diarrhea in a woman during lactation

Treatment for diarrhea while breastfeeding in a mother depends on the cause of the condition.

A common cause of diarrhea is stress. The stressful state of nursing mothers can occur due to difficult childbirth (postpartum depression), especially if the baby is the first. Stress appears after childbirth due to the nervous tension of the mother due to chronic fatigue, and a constant feeling of fear for the baby's health becomes the cause. In this case, the treatment must be directed to the restoration of the woman's nervous system.

Modern pharmacists offer an abundance of drugs designed for women who are breastfeeding. Choice medicines for diarrhea does the doctor directly, since self-medication can harm maternal health and the baby.

Another difficulty is getting the infection inside the woman's body. If this happens, antibiotic therapy should be prescribed. The doctor selects the appropriate antibiotic, then a decision is made on the need to breastfeed the baby. Only a doctor can correctly decide whether to transfer the baby to artificial feeding or continue breastfeeding.

To eliminate the consequences of diarrhea, a woman is prescribed activated charcoal, Atoxil or Sorbex. The drugs are harmless to mother and child.

To replenish fluid in the body during lactation, Regidron is attributed. This drug restores the salt balance. To remove toxins from the body, Smecta powder is prescribed. The medicine combines toxins, bacteria in the patient's body, removing them from the body along with the feces. For diarrhea, it is possible to take sorbents (Polysorb, Enterosgel, Filtrum).

In case of diarrhea, in order to prevent bacteria, infections from the mother from entering the baby's body, the mother of the child should remember about cleanliness of hands, dishes, and clothes. It is recommended that you wash your breasts with laundry soap every time you feed your baby.

Diarrhea due to improper diet

When a baby is born, a woman must reconsider her own diet and eat right. A large number of spicy foods and the use of fatty foods can cause intestinal upset in a nursing mother. If you neglect the rules, diarrhea will periodically bother the woman, which will lead to undesirable consequences.

With diarrhea due to abundant fatty foods, it is necessary to adjust the daily diet, a diet is prescribed during the lactation period.

Diet of a nursing mother with diarrhea

A woman who has an infant should exclude foods that stimulate the intestines (milk and dairy products), reduce the intake of fruits and vegetables rich in fiber. Limit the use of spicy foods, pickles. Eliminate soda, alcohol!

During diarrhea during breastfeeding, cereals, boiled meat, lean steamed fish are allowed, and the use of dryers, crackers contributes to the rapid cessation of diarrhea.

If diarrhea occurs, whatever the cause, remember to be dehydrated. To avoid it, you need to drink 3 liters of water a day.

Diagnostic methods for diarrhea

In order to correctly establish the cause of the development of diarrhea in a nursing mother, you first need to consult a doctor, conduct a full examination and take blood, urine, and feces tests. To determine the cause of the disease, an ultrasound scan is prescribed. After passing the examination, the doctor determines the treatment, gives recommendations for eliminating the disease.

Traditional medicine to help with diarrhea

Ancestral recipes, proven over the years - it is permissible to use them as an auxiliary therapy, but it is not worth replacing pharmaceuticals with folk recipes.

To relieve intestinal inflammation with diarrhea, it is worth drinking a decoction of oak. You need to take 1 tbsp. spoon of bark, pour boiling water (300 ml), boil for 10 minutes. Strain. Drink the broth 3 times a day for a tablespoon.

Good results are obtained by using rice water. It coats the intestines to protect against irritants. To prepare the broth, rinse with 2 tablespoons of rice, pour 0.5 liters of boiling water, cook for 40 minutes over low heat. Then remove the broth from the heat, cool, filter. Take 1⁄4 cup during the day in 2-3 hours.

Infusion of pomegranate peels helps to destroy pathogenic microorganisms. Dried crusts are crushed, poured with boiling water (1 tsp. Crusts per 250 ml of boiling water), insist for half an hour, drink before meals.

The infection in the gastrointestinal tract will die with the help of bird cherry berries, which are good for diarrhea. 1 tablespoon of berries is poured with a glass of boiling water, infused for 30 minutes. Take the product 100 g three times a day.

Prevention of diarrhea during lactation

A nursing mother should know the rules for preventing diarrhea. These rules are simple but powerful.

Remember:

• when buying products, do not forget to check the sale date of the goods;
• wash fruits, vegetables before eating;
• stressful situations should be avoided;
• meat, fish dishes, egg dishes must be thoroughly heat treated.

Observing the listed rules, every woman is able to avoid health problems and protect herself from diarrhea.