Can I take antibiotics while I am breastfeeding my baby?

Yes,

Most antibiotics are quite safe during breastfeeding, even though small amounts may be secreted in the Breast Milk.

The only potential side effect in infants whose mothers are breast-feeding and taking antibiotics such as penicillins, cephalosporins, macrolides, and aminoglycosides are changes in their intestinal flora (bacteria that are normally present in the intestines). This may lead to loose stool and diarrhea in the infant, but these side effects are temporary.

You have to be careful only for a couple of antibiotics (which your doctor is anyways unlikely to prescribe) during breastfeeding.

Flagyl / Metronidazole is excreted in large quantities in breast milk and may lead to loose stools/ fungal infection in infants and is hence better avoided, or the milk discarded for 24 hours after a course of this medicine.

Chloramphenicol is a rarely prescribed antibiotic that CANNOT be taken during breast feeding, since it can lead to bone marrow suppression & serious liver damage. The good news is that this antibiotic is in any case very rarely prescribed nowadays.

For more information about antibiotic and other medicine safety during breast feeding read here

1. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21308045/ns/today-today_health/t/taking-antibiotics-safe-while-breast-feeding/

2. http://www.babycenter.com/0_drug-safety-during-breastfeeding_8790.bc

3. http://www.safefetus.com/

4. http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/breastfeeding/a/bfing_drugs_2.htm

TIP - When should I start plain cow's milk for my baby?

The short answer - The American Academy of Pediatrics clearly recommends NOT using cow's milk till the child is at least 1 year old. We can switch over to cow's milk between 1-2 years age slowly in most children.

The slightly longer version - Cow's milk is for the calves! While this may sound simple enough it hides quite a few important facts that would help us make the choice between cow's milk and formula.

In India, there is often an obsession for starting "fresh cow's milk" as a healthy & superior alternative to formula milk. However it must be remembered that cow's milk was created by mother nature for the calves. Thus it has far higher content of protein (since calves grow much faster than a human baby), higher phosphorus and lower sugar (lactose) than human milk.

In fact the formula milk is man's way of artificially trying to replicate mother's milk from the cow's milk. Thus we reduce the things that are in excess in cow's milk, add the things that are deficient in cow's milk, and try to make this as close as physically possible to mother's milk.

While this formula milk is still inferior to mother's milk, it is generally speaking a far better choice than cow's milk.

Of course since this is an expensive option, full fat cow's milk (& NOT toned/ slim milk) may be a reasonable alternative for these babies, where affordability may be an issue.