Hi Toni -

I am usually a lurker and a LLL Leader, and wanted to speak out on travel to
India. I
have traveled to Bangladesh 6 times over the course of my 15 year marriage -
I went with a 4 month old exclusively breastfed daughter, then with
the same child at 3 1/2, almost weaned, then this year with a 3 year
old that nursed alot. I can tell you the best thing that the mother can do
is to keep breastfeeding her baby.

Any health conditions that prohibit breastfeeding  (which are not many)
would be the same there as anywhere else.
The mother should only drink boiled water - bring *your own* boiled water
whenever you go to
other people's house (I and my 2 daughters always used those Tupperware
sports canisters (no plug intended), but any water bottles would do) - just
be sure you *carry your own* - the reason for this is even if the people
at other houses say they are using boiled water, the people handling
the dishes etc. may not have washed their hands well.  I can't say if
conditions are the same where you are as where we were, but most houses
have servants for cooking and washing dishes. Additionally (pretty graphic
here, but its important) the vast majority of people there do not use
toilet paper when cleaning themselves in the bathroom - rather they use
water and their
left hand, then wash their hands with soap. You can imagine if someone was
carrying
hepatitis A how easily this could spread. (I caught it in Bang. in 1987, before
children.) Avoid peeled fruits and salads unless you are certain of who
prepared them
and under what conditions.

The BAB says you can nurse with Hep.A. It also says you can continue
bfdng with food poisoning "as long as the mother's symptoms are
confined to her gastrointestinal tract". WRT to Giardia, the BAB says
"Giardia itself is not dangerous to the nursing baby, but one medication
(metronidazole) used to treat it is controversial when used during
breastfeeding." It
goes on to discuss possible ways of dosing this medication that would make it
more acceptable.

Anyway - my daughter at 4 months old was *never sick* - she never had a drop
of water *at all* and people there were surprised that I didn't give
her water.  This year when we were there, my daughters and I caught some
type of knockout flu that left me in bed not eating, severely achy, lots
of headaches, chills and fever of up to 103, for 5 days, then weak for 5 more.
My little one, the 3 year old, was in bed for 1 day, then up and
playing around and completely normal within another day. Why? Because
she was breastfeeding, I am absolutely certain - my body fought
this illness for me and for her.

I think my point in all this is - the mother should do her best to avoid
sickness, and
breastfeed the baby which is the absolute best protection over there you
can give to the baby, even if the mother is sick, in almost all cases.

Sorry this got so long, but hope it helps.

Jane Khondker
LLL Leader
Potsdam NY