Since I am pregnant now I have been getting considerable pressure from my family ...not just to breastfeed, but to check out breast milk donations also.
They don't mean to put pressure on us, they just really don't understand all that Lyme entails.
I had to explain to my mom (for the 4th or 5th time) today again that we are not comfortable with breastmilk donation.
Our reasoning is that if lyme is actually difficult to detect in breastmilk, how do I know that the screening process for donation won't miss lyme in a mother who is donating?
We want the BEST for this baby and we don't intend to take any chances. Has anyone else had problems with this?
***** Breastfeeding and Lyme Disease
By Kelly Bonyata, IBCLC
Per the US Centers for Disease Control, Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, and is transmitted to humans via the bite of a tick infected with this bacteria. The Lyme disease bacteria has not been cultured from human milk (though associated DNA have been detected - see below), and no babies have developed Lyme disease from their mothers' milk.
Here is what we know:
In a paper from the US Centers for Disease Control website (Cooper & Feder, 2004), it is stated that: "B. burgdorferi has never been cultured from human breast milk, and there is no case of an infant developing symptomatic or asymptomatic B. burgdorferi infection from breast milk."
In one study (Ziska et al, 1996), seven breastfeeding mothers with Lyme disease were studied, and none of their babies contracted Lyme disease.
In another study (Schmidt et al, 1995), DNA associated with Lyme disease were detected in the breastmilk of two mothers, but neither of their babies contracted Lyme disease - per Lawrence & Lawrence (2005), it is not known whether the DNA were from infectious spirochetes or were non-infectious DNA fragments.
If a mother does become infected with Lyme disease, she will likely not know about it until symptoms appear (7-14 days or longer), and baby will have already been exposed to the illness at that point (IF it can be transmitted via breastmilk - we don't know whether this is possible).
Breastfeeding builds baby's immune system and will also provide baby with extra antibodies to Lyme disease. Discontinuing breastfeeding would deprive baby of the extra immune protection from breastfeeding.
The general consensus is that breastfeeding should continue if a mother has Lyme disease, especially if she has already started or completed treatment. There are several medications that can be used to treat Lyme disease in breastfeeding mothers.
Lawrence & Lawrence (in Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession, 2005) suggest that since we don't have concrete evidence on the possibility of transmission, this should be discussed with the mother and (depending on the mother's wishes) breastfeeding could be withheld until the mother's treatment has been started or completed.
They recommend observing baby for symptoms of Lyme disease whether or not the mother discontinues breastfeeding temporarily, and treating baby if symptoms appear.
Page last modified: 07/12/2005 Written: 7/10/05
Additional Information & References
Lawrence R, Lawrence R. Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession, 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Mosby, 2005: 678-680, 1004.
Cooper JD, Feder HM Jr. Inaccurate information about lyme disease on the internet. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2004 Dec;23(12):1105-8.
"The generally accepted (included in position statements by the Academy of Pediatrics, the College of Rheumatology and the Infectious Disease Society of America) and evidence-based information for these topics is as follows.... During or After Treatment of Lyme Disease, Is It Safe to Breast-feed? It is safe to breast-feed while being treated for Lyme disease. B. burgdorferi has never been cultured from human breast milk, and there is no case of an infant developing symptomatic or asymptomatic B. burgdorferi infection from breast milk."
Hale TW. Medications and Mothers Milk. 11th Edition. Amarillo, Texas: Pharmasoft Publishing; 2004: 502-503.
Mohrbacher N, Stock J. The Breastfeeding Answer Book, Third Revised Edition. Schaumburg, Illinois: La Leche League International, 2003: 549.
Committee on Infectious Diseases: Report of the Committee, Red Book, 25th ed. Elk Grove Village, Illinois: American Academy of Pediatrics 2000, p. 375.
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, US Centers for Disease Control. Recommendations for the Use of Lyme Disease Vaccine Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR. 1999 June 04; 48(RR07);1-17.
Routes of Transmission: Humans acquire B. burgdorferi infection from infected ticks at the time the tick takes a blood meal; Lyme disease is not spread by person-to-person contact or by direct contact with infected animals. Transplacental transmission of B. burgdorferi has been reported, but the effects of such transmission on the fetus remain unclear. The results of two epidemiologic studies document that congenital Lyme disease must be rare, if it occurs at all. Transmission in breast milk has not been described. B. burgdorferi can be cultured from the blood in some patients with early acute infection, and it is able to survive for several weeks in stored blood. However, at least one study has found that the risk for transfusion-acquired infection is minimal.
Ziska MH, Giovanello T, Johnson MJ, Baly J. Disseminated Lyme disease and pregnancy. 9th Annual International Scientific Conference on Lyme Disease and Other Tick-Borne Disorders. Boston, MA, April 19-20, 1996.
Shapiro ED. Lyme disease in children. Am J Med. 1995 Apr 24;98(4A):69S-73S.
Schmidt BL, Aberer E, Stockenhuber C, Klade H, Breier F, Luger A. Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi DNA by polymerase chain reaction in the urine and breast milk of patients with Lyme borreliosis. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 1995 Mar;21(3):121-8.
Stiernstedt G. Lyme borreliosis during pregnancy. Scand J Infect Dis Suppl. 1990;71:99-100.
posted
Most of us would regard the CDC to be the last place to look to as an authority on Lyme disease. Here is an article on The Children of Lyme Disease by Dr. Charled Ray Jones; the only pediatric authority on children and lyme.
The Children of Lyme Disease
Charles Ray Jones, MD Pediatrician,
Current research indicates that the Lyme disease bacteria,
Borrelia burgdorferi, can be transmitted within
hours after an infected tick attachment. Failure of parents and teachers to recognize Lyme disease early in its
course can result in a child developing a chronic
difficult to treat infection in the brain, eyes, joints,
heart and elsewhere in the body.
In my experience treating
6,000+ children birth to 18 with Lyme disease,
50% have no tick attachment history, 10% or less
have an erythema migrans (bullseye rash) history,
but all have a history of living in or having visited
a Lyme endemic area and have a decline
in the way they play and perform in school.
They are tired, wilt easily, have dark circles under their
eyes and are sick. Lyme disease has a profound negative
impact on a child's life, cognitive function and ability to
perform maximally in school. Severe fatigue unrelieved by rest
results in decreased stamina and a decreased ability to play and
to do school work. Insomnia, headaches, nausea, abdominal pain,
impaired concentration, poor short-term memory, an inability to
and mood swings, fevers/chills, joint pain, dizziness, noise and
light sensitivity, and difficulty thinking, expressing thoughts,
reading, writing, and making decisions as well as a feeling of
being overwhelmed by schoolwork plague a child with Lyme
disease. Pain and impaired cognitive function make it
difficult to sustain attention and to learn and
recall new material.
Although Lyme is usually transmitted by Ixodes scapularis
(deer) and Amblyomma americanum (lone star) ticks,
it can also be transmitted in utero and through breast milk.
These children, frequently floppy with poor muscle tone,
are irritable and ill early in their lives with frequent fevers,
increased incidence of ear and throat infections, pneumonia,
joint and body pain. They have gastroesophageal reflux,
small windpipes (tracheomalacia), cataracts and
other eye problems, developmental delay,
learning disabilities, and psychiatric problems.
All respond to months or years
of continuous antibiotic therapy.
When Lyme disease is a possible diagnosis,
the children should be evaluated by a Lyme knowledgeable physician
who will continue antibiotic therapy until all Lyme symptoms resolve.
In most circumstances, Ixodes scapularis tick attachment
should be treated with one month of antibiotic therapy.
-------------------- nan Posts: 2135 | From Tick Country | Registered: Oct 2000
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WildCondor
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If you have Lyme disease, then breastfeeding is a big n0-no. Spirochetes can be transmitted via breastmilk, and you can end up with a sick child. In my opinion, its not a risk a mother should take. Its hard enough to stay on the antibiotics every 6 hours while you are pregnant. Make sure you have your OB/GYN know what they are doing, and when the baby is born have the placenta, cord blood, and urine tested. Have that bottle of formulas ready too! Don't let friends and family pressure you who do not know what they are talking about! Give them materials to read, have them talk to the parent of a baby who was born with Lyme and see how "wonderful" their life is.
Tell them, Lyme patients can NEVER even donate blood, do you they want you to infect your baby, AND god knows how many other babies by donating your milk? Would you give your baby the milk of a sick mother? I dont think so!
Stay on your antibiotics, make sure you have a doctor who knows what they are doing, and educate your family as to how serious this is. Ignorance makes me so mad! These innocent babies cannot make the decision, its up to you to be responsible and intelligent about it. Lyme diease means no breastfeeding!
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Yes...I've really researched breastfeeding and I know that we have chosen well in not breastfeed.
I guess the frustration comes because even when I send them articles and info on Lyme they either don't read it or don't pay attention.
I KNOW they mean well and they love me...it's just frustrating that I have to explain our position over and over.
I think it's reasonable to not feel comfortable with breastmilk donation also. If I went 10 or so years without even knowing I had Lyme, how many people still have no idea that they have it?
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