Sick or hospitalized child - breast-feeding

Breastfeeding is a good medicine. In addition to the fact that breastfeeding helps premature babies, the nursing mother is an important member of the medical team if her child is sick, especially if he is hospitalized. When one of my patients gets to the hospital, I always encourage parents to take care of him. I noticed that in this case, the children recover more quickly, and the parents do not feel like strangers, because they are part of the medical team. The more they participate, the better they understand the nature of the disease and the methods of treatment.

Breastfeeding is especially valuable for children who have been hospitalized with respiratory diseases, such as croup or bronchitis. In these situations, the more a child cries, the more his breathing is disturbed. Calming the child, you also make his breathing more calm. Let me share with you the story of the one-year-old Tony and his mother, Sin-di, who breastfed. One early morning, Tony woke with a barking cough, and it was difficult for him to breathe. I sent Tony to the hospital for treatment of croup, but his condition worsened. Tony got into a vicious circle: the harder he was to breathe, the more he became nervous, which further complicated his breathing.

I told Cindy that if Tony did not calm down, his condition would become more complicated, and we would be forced to produce a tracheotomy( a surgical opening of the trachea below the inflamed vocal cords so he could inhale more air).Without breathing, Cindy blurted out: "I'll calm him down!" And she did it. Through the hole in Tony's oxygen tent,

Cindy's chest entered, along with affectionate words and encouragement, as well as the familiar touch of a man who worries about his child strong enough to give him the best. Tony listened, watched and sucked. He instantly relaxed and breathed easier. Relaxed, and I relaxed my mother, as well as a surgeon, who was ready at the ready for their tools to save lives. Tony received the best sedative.

During illness, children often return to a more primitive and familiar way of self-complacency, such as sucking a finger and curling up like a fetus. Breastfeeding during illness relieves anxiety from staying in hospital walls, helping the child to grasp the comfortable and pleasant action that he has long loved and to whom he is trusted.

Breastfeeding is also valuable for a child with a diarrheal syndrome caused by inflammation of the bowel( known as gastroenteritis).These children may have intolerance to artificial mixtures, but they usually tolerate breast milk well. In our practice, we saw many children with gastroenteritis who continued to suck their breasts without intensifying diarrhea or dehydration;at the same time, their counterparts with

with the same disease often stayed for a long time in the hospital with dehydration and needed intravenous injections. Another point in favor of mother's milk. In addition, self sucking very calms the child, who does not understand why it is so bad.