What are the causes and how to treat diarrhea in a nursing mother?

Diarrhea in a nursing mother is an unpleasant phenomenon, which is complicated by the experiences of the baby. Will not this kind of condition hurt the baby?

Can I breast-feed with diarrhea? How fast and safe is it to cure diarrhea? These and other issues are discussed in the article.

Causes of diarrhea in nursing women

Diarrhea is a pathological condition characterized by frequent defecation( 2-3 times a day), the stool is liquid, watery, of large volume.

Often diarrhea is accompanied by painful sensations in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting.

There are several reasons for diarrhea in a nursing mother. To correctly establish a diagnosis, you need to carefully consider all the symptoms of the disease.

So, intestinal infection is often accompanied by fever and vomiting. There is an infection due to ingress of pathogenic bacteria into the body.

Malicious microorganisms multiply in the intestines, in the course of their vital activity, toxins are produced that disrupt the intestinal microflora and lead to malfunction of the gastrointestinal tract.

The method of transmission of these bacteria is fecal-oral, which is why intestinal infections are called dirty hand disease. To avoid infection, the nursing mother should thoroughly wash her hands after visiting the restroom.

One of the causes of diarrhea in a nursing mother may be poisoning with substandard products. The ration of a young mother should be under close supervision.

And the question is not only in the composition of products, but also in their quality, because the health of the mother depends on the baby's well-being.

Fatty, fried, spicy can cause disruptions in the bowels and cause diarrhea. You should thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables, eat only fresh food.

The spoiled food contains bacteria and toxins, which, entering the intestine, disrupt its operation and change the composition of the intestinal microflora.

Food poisoning is often accompanied by nausea, dizziness and vomiting.

Diarrhea can be one of the manifestations of an allergy. Due to changes in the hormonal background during pregnancy and after the birth of the baby, a reaction to certain foods may change in the young mother.

Allergies may be accompanied by a rash, itching, redness of the skin. If you suspect a food allergy, simply remove the foods that can cause such a reaction from the diet.

A young mother in the first months of her life experiences a lot of stress from changing the way of life and the appearance of responsibility.

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Experience, sleepless nights, lack of proper rest affect the work of the body and often lead to the appearance of diarrhea.

Doctors call this reaction irritable bowel syndrome. The difference between the syndrome and other causes of diarrhea is absence of vomiting, nausea, high fever.

Diarrhea in the syndrome may alternate with constipation, but worries about maternal pathology only in the daytime. In a dream, when the muscles relax and reduce the level of stress, diarrhea passes.

How to cure diarrhea?

Diarrhea is a natural defensive reaction of the body to toxins. That is why it is not worth stopping diarrhea in any way, but it is necessary to understand the reasons for its appearance.

The main danger of diarrhea is in dehydration. During diarrhea, a large amount of fluid and salts is removed from the body.

During dehydration, the functioning of internal organs and human systems is disrupted, the load on the liver and heart is increased.

Insufficient amount of fluid in the body prevents the excretion of pathogenic bacteria and products of their vital activity, which leads to general intoxication.

That's why with diarrhea, even before the doctor comes, you should start recovering fluid in the body.

You can drink a large amount of slightly salted boiled water or take a special electrolytic solution that is sold at the pharmacy.

In acute intestinal infection( OCI), the physician should choose suitable antibiotic therapy that is compatible with breastfeeding.

The individual choice of a medicine can lead to an additional burden on the liver of a nursing mother and even harm the baby.

A simple, seemingly way to stop diarrhea - drink a pill( for example, Loperamide).The danger of such a thoughtless intake of a drug lies in the possible strongest intoxication of the body.

The fact is that with OCI or food poisoning the body includes a natural defensive reaction - diarrhea - to get rid of pathogenic bacteria.

The stop of intestinal motility in this case will lead to the termination of excretion of harmful microorganisms.

Therefore, taking anti-diarrhea drugs is possible only if the diagnosis is accurate and under the supervision of a doctor.

Breastfeeding mother who has encountered irritable bowel syndrome should first start taking sedatives.

Relaxing the muscles and relieving nervous tension during the day will completely cure diarrhea.

Safe for a nursing mother is the reception of activated carbon - one of the most effective sorbents.

Coal removes from the digestive tract toxins produced by pathogenic microorganisms.

You can apply it without fear for the health of the baby, since coal does not penetrate into breast milk. The doctor can prescribe other sorbents permitted during breastfeeding, for example, Polysorb and Enterosgel.

When diarrhea is a breastfeeding mother, it is recommended to follow a certain diet. In addition to a large amount of liquid( up to 3 liters per day), you should include porridge, lean meat and fish in your diet.

All dishes are recommended to cook in a double boiler or bake in the oven.

Is it safe to continue feeding with diarrhea?

Often, when any malaise occurs, the main idea of ​​a nursing mother is whether the condition will not hurt the baby.

But for today the opinion of doctors is unequivocal: diarrhea conceals a danger only for the mother herself and can not harm a baby who is breastfed.

Bacteria that have got into the mother's body and caused a violation of intestinal motility are transmitted through dirty hands, but do not penetrate into the milk.

Therefore, when intestinal infection should pay attention to the state of the mother and do not stop breastfeeding.

Food poisoning occurs with the use of stale foods, bacteria and toxins in which, appearing in the gastrointestinal tract, and cause diarrhea.

Those toxins that can still get into breast milk are insignificant, but in this case the baby gets antibodies to the infection, developed by the mother's body. With such poisoning, stop feeding with milk is not required.

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If the cause of breastfeeding diarrhea is irritable bowel syndrome, this condition does not affect the baby's well-being, because it is caused by stress, not by bacteria.

If a mother is diagnosed with a syndrome, her treatment should necessarily include taking sedatives.

Drugs for this purpose should be selected by a doctor, as some of them may be contraindicated for lactating mothers.

To preserve breastfeeding with diarrhea, it is necessary to replenish fluid in the body in time, rest and eat properly.

With stress and a lack of nutrients, the production of breast milk may be reduced or even stopped altogether.

In especially severe cases, if diarrhea lasts more than 3 days, pain is accompanied, blood stained in the stool, and the doctor prescribes strong medications.

Many of them are not compatible with breastfeeding. At the time of taking such drugs, you should transfer the baby to the mixture.

If you consult a doctor on time, the treatment will be more effective, and in a few days it will be possible to return to breastfeeding.

Diarrhea in a nursing woman is unpleasant, but in most cases not a dangerous disease.

To determine the cause of diarrhea, a competent doctor will help, who will prescribe an effective treatment that is fully compatible with breastfeeding.