If it were *my* baby, and the infection occurred prior to delivery, I would
cry, gnash my teeth, and breastfeed.  I have yet to see anything that makes
me believe that breastfeeding in the abscence of acute infection or active
AIDS will increase the danger to my baby.  In fact the European
Collaborative Study as quoted in Breastfeeding and Human Lactation by
Riordan and Auerbach (1993, p. 169) indicates no increase in the
transmission of HIV by breastfeeding and another study reported that the
median incubaion time for developing AIDS when bottle feeding was 9.7 mos
and 19.0 months when breastfeeding.  (For those interested, I have found
this book to be very informative, a great investment - no, I have no
financial interest in the book.)

Oh, and yes, I would probably quote CDC and WHO in addition to this source
when counselling a mom who is HIV+.


Linda Pohl, IBCLC
Phoenix, Arizona USA
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