In a message dated 97-10-01 02:29:39 EDT, Lisa writes: << I need help with this, a client came to me today and told me that her pediatrician told her that due to her having yeast that she can not express and freeze her milk, that the milk will reinfect the baby with yeast and they will start passing it back and forth again. Has anyone ever heard of this? I need to know what to tell this mom, she is scheduled for surgery and needs to have some milk frozen for while she is having the surgery. >> According to the Breastfeeding Answer Book by Nancy Mohrboacher, IBCLC, and Julie Stock, BA, IBCLC: "Expressed milk can be fed to the baby, but milk expressed during a thrush outbreak should not be saved and frozen. Freezing deactivates yeast but does not kill it [the citation for this is Rosa, C. et al. Yeasts from human milk collected in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rev Microbiol 1990; 21(4):361-63]. So if the frozen milk is given to the baby after treatment is completed, it could cause the thrush to recur." So, what is the surgery for? Can the surgery be postponed until the yeast treatment is completed? How old is this baby? Does it take any food other than breastmilk? How long will mom and the baby be separated during surgery? Can mom nurse right before and right after the surgery? Is it really necessary for mom to pump and freeze in advance? Also, ask whether mother will receive antibiotics post operatively. If so, she may be at risk for another thrush outbreak anyway. :-( Rita LLL of Menlo Park/Palo Alto, California