So, since mother's milk contains great levels of antibodies to rotavirus 
in areas where rotavirus is the biggest problem, we should worry a lot 
about the fact that these antibodies are lowering the effectiveness of 
the rotavirus vaccine? Don't those very babies whose mothers have the 
highest titers against rotavirus have the least risk of getting it 
anyway? Okay, I've got that out of my system. Time to be rational.

I suspect the issue is that rotateq vaccine is an oral vaccine. So mom's 
milk is going to inactivate much of the virus before the baby's immune 
system even sees it. Once she stops breastfeeding exclusively, baby can 
be exposed to rotavirus, either in water or on solid foods or 
contaminated environmental surfaces, and loses the passive protection 
that mom gives.

If the authors are talking about giving a tiny dose of clean water to 
wash down the vaccine and withholding breastfeeding for a few minutes 
while the mom and baby are still in the clinic, that's one thing. If 
they are thinking of giving an artificial feed or interrupting 
breastfeeding longer, they potentially can do way more harm than good.

Catherine Watson Genna, BS, IBCLC  NYC

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