A mother I've worked with has battled through through a variety of
health problems, for both her and her baby, and is now breastfeeding a
flourishing almost one-year-old.  One of the mother's problems has been
colitis.  While at the hospital for a CAT scan yesterday for something
unrelated, a helpful nurse told her that breastfeeding could cause or
exacerbate colitis in the breastfeeding mother.

That was sure news to me, but I said I'd do some research, and ask a
knowledgeable circle of LCs.  I've already told her, since her child
will likely have this genetic predisposition, that artificial feeding is
well-documented to increase risks for colitis and Crohn's, and that
since colitis is an auto-immune disease, anything that encourages normal
immune system functioning is a plus.  She should feel great that she's
persevered.

I did speculate that I'd heard of a few rare cases where oxytocin
contracting smooth muscle has caused a few BF mothers to have diarrhea
in the early days of adjustment, but that's different from damage to the
intestinal lining.

Anyway, does this nurse's assertion have any validity?  Could even the
opposite be true, since some other auto-immune problems can have some
remission during BF?  I guess on diseases that have intermittent
flare-ups, it's hard to get good research on all the factors.


Margaret Wills, LLLL, IBCLC

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