Arly, I've always felt that by the time a mother becomes aware that she is coming down with an illness, the baby has already been exposed to that disease anyway. The mother is also already producing antibodies to whatever is making her sick, so by continuing to breastfeed, the baby is being given specific antibodies to whatever they are trying to fight off. I would guess that withholding the breastmilk would be more risky. Kris Rogers RN,BSN,IBCLC Crystal Lake, Il