You know, I was going to put in "the ignorance of the parents"--due to lack
of education by HCPs, but thought it wasn't necessary. I apologise, it
obviously was. My own daughter had recurrent UTIs and I too was
conscientious of good hygiene with her. Sometimes we never find the
answers, I hope your good fortune continues. Sorry for the
misunderstanding.

Mary A. Banaszewski RN, Lactation Specialist

----------
> From: Paul & Kathy Koch <[log in to unmask]>
> To:
> Subject: Re: Ecoli
> Date: Tuesday, December 02, 1997 9:01 PM
>
> Mary A. Banaszewski wrote:
>
> > Ecoli is naturally present in the colon, incorrect cleaning of the
> > female
> > genitalia is the usual method by which it is introduced into the
> > urinary
> > tract, parents need to be taught the proper method of cleaning stool
> > from
> > the baby's bottom (wash front to back). This baby would have been far
> > sicker were she not breastfeeding. It is unrealistic (and unfair) to
> > expect
> > breastfeeding to protect our young from the ignorance of the parents.
>
> While breastfeeding will not prevent UTI's and may lessen the severity
> of their symptoms, it is not necessarily ignorance on the part of the
> parents that "caused" the UTI.  My middle child (now 5, breastfed 27
> months) had recurrent and frequent (monthly) UTI's that began around 8
> months of age.  Some bouts were quite severe--fever of 105 and severe
> pain, others with no fever but other symptoms.
>
> She was ALWAYS carefully cleaned after diaper changes and I still assist
> her at her "advanced" age.  She hasn't had a UTI since July and was
> taken off the antibiotics (by the pediatric urologist) yesterday for the
> first time in about 2 years.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
>
> Some children, even those who have normal anatomy like my daughter (no
> reflux, etc) are particularly prone to infections and their parents
> could scrub them raw and it could still occur.  It is unfair to
> automatically blame this on the parents.
>
> Kathy, mother to Abigail who could say "no catheter" at 18 months
> --
>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Kathy Koch, BSEd, IBCLC
> Mom to Andrew, Abigail and Molly
> LLL Leader, AAPL/OL for VA and MD/DE/DC
> [log in to unmask]          Great Mills, MD, USA
>
> "Within the child lies the fate of the future."   Maria Montessori
>
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>