If it's just a little blood and the baby is well, it can be safe to
continue breastfeeding and monitor the situation.  Most of us have had
babies in our practices that had a bit of fresh red blood in the stool
and did well on breast milk.
        Human milk always has lactose in it.  Lactose is the preferred fuel of
the developing human brain.  I worry about taking lactose away from
human babies for a few streaks of blood in their diapers.
        A baby with a severe problem will be losing weight, getting edema from
protein insufficiency, acting miserable (crying or lethargic) and not
developing well.  If the baby is vigorous and well, it is a very
different risk/benefit equation re:continuing to breastfeed than if the
baby is not thriving.  Even then, I would look for other causes first.
One of the babies in my practice had cystic fibrosis, and was
misdiagnosed by a (very arrogant) gastroenterologist as having an
allergic (to breastmilk) protein losing enteropathy.  The CF was finally
found by another specialist 3 months later, after the mom had lost her
supply and the baby had forgotten how to bf.  And breast milk is the
best food for kids with CF, especially once they get the digestive
enzymnes they need.  That baby did well on hydrolysate formula for a few
weeks, and then got edematous again.
        The moral of this longwinded story is: if the baby looks and acts well,
don't be so fast to sacrifice breastfeeding.  And if the baby looks and
acts unwell, look for causes other than the breastmilk before
interfering in the nursing relationship.
--
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  New York City  mailto:[log in to unmask]

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