Breastfeeding and influenza

A mother with suspected or confirmed flu should take all possible precautions to avoid spreading the virus to her infant while continuing to provide breast milk to her infant.

Flu is not spread to infants through breast milk. The flu is spread mainly from person-to-person via respiratory droplets when people cough, sneeze, or talk, or possibly, when a person touches a surface or object that has the flu virus on it and then touches their own mouth or nose.

A mother’s breast milk contains antibodies and other immunological factors that can help protect her infant from flu and is the recommended source of nutrition for the infant, even while the mother is ill.

If a mother is too sick to feed her infant at the breast and another healthy caregiver is caring for the infant, the breastfeeding mother should be encouraged and supported to regularly express her milk so that the infant continues to receive her breast milk.

Prior to expressing breast milk, mothers should wash their hands well with soap and water and, if using a pump, follow recommendations for proper cleaning.

Source: cdc.gov/breastfeeding