The answer to breastfeeding when a mother is positive for Hepatitis C is
not yet clear.  There are small studies available, previously posted,
which suggest that there is *no* increased risk for the baby when the
mother breastfeeds.  This makes sense, as it is difficult to imagine a
baby being born without swallowing some blood, so that the infection of
the baby probably occurs at birth or before.

Cytomegalovirus is a problem for the infant only when the mother is
infected during the first trimester.  Why would the mother's milk having
CMV be a problem while nursing?  Usually, CMV causes only mild or even
inapparent illness in the small baby or older.

Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC