You don't need information from studies to tell mothers it's okay for them

to get flu shots while breastfeeding.

1. assume it's safe, because the risks of stopping breastfeeding are almost

always greater than continuing breastfeeding.

2. what could the shot possibly do to the baby? Only give him protection

against the influenza virus, if the vaccine virus got into the milk, which

it probably didn't.

3. but the mother could pass on sensitized white cells to the baby which may

protect him, which is good.

4. if this baby had some respiratory or cardiac disease, the physician would

be pushing the parents to immunize the baby with influenza.

Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html