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Expert: - 4/12/2009


Question
I have a 1-yr-old who has had a history of vomiting & loose stools/diarrhea with undigested food.  He just had a surgery for a malrotation of his intestines which was caught at the hospital when he vomited green.  No intestine needed to be removed.  He was on IV only for 3 days, then started clear fluids.  On the 4th day I stared nursing again.  That night I was allowed to start feeding him solids.  His stools were very runny, but I was told this is OK after the IV fluids & surgery.  He was discharged on day 5, still with diarrhea.  They took a culture from the diaper, but it was negative.  Now we are 8 days from surgery & still having terrible diarrhea.  Sometimes it is watery, sometimes it looks mucusy.  It is always green to yellow-green.  Whatever food he eats comes out the same way it went in.  I've been to the pediatrician twice since he's out.  I'm giving him rice cereal, banana, pasta, crackers (plain), cheerios and such.  I also have been trying to get him to take pedialyte.  Yesterday the Dr told me to stop nursing & start him on a soy-based formula.  This seems wrong to me, so I have not stopped yet.  I thought breast milk was best during diarrhea?  I'm now freaking out since it won't go away again.

Answer
Dear Joanne,

First, congratulations for giving your son the best start in life by breastfeeding him! I'm sorry to be so long getting back to you, but since this is more than a breastfeeding issue, I wanted to speak to Dr. Marks (see below) for her advice as a pediatrician. I just spoke to her and these are her recommendations:

1) Make an appointment with a pediatric gastroenterologist. With your son's problems, she recommends that he be seen by a specialist.

2) Remove all dairy foods (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.) from your own diet as long as you are breastfeeding.

3) Give your baby acidophilus (e.g., Culturelle), maybe 1/2 capsule in the morning and 1/2 in the evening.

4) With these measures, it should be all right for you to continue breastfeeding.

Good luck! I hope that your son finds relief. I would love to hear from you to find out how things are going.

Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters. Now in revision for a fourth edition, with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D.  

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Sally Wendkos Olds

Expertise

What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200 articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.

Experience

I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition. I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009. I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.

Credentials I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.

Other points of interest I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding. To find out more about me, go to

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