The best food for infants is breast milk, which is not only nutritious and suitable for infants’ digestion and absorption, but also rich in immune and neurotrophic factors, which can strengthen children’s resistance and promote their brain development. However, breast milk, which is the most suitable for infants’ needs, can sometimes cause diseases or aggravate the existing diseases of infants and children. Now the diseases related to breastfeeding are listed below to remind parents to carefully weigh the pros and cons between breastfeeding and infant health according to the specific situation, and then determine which feeding method to use.
I. Breast milk jaundice
Jaundice occurs in newborns due to breastfeeding and is called breast milk jaundice. The reason for jaundice is that breast milk contains progesterone, which can inhibit the activity of glucuronosyltransferase in the liver of newborns, resulting in the inability to metabolize and excrete bilirubin in the blood in a timely manner, so the concentration of bilirubin in the blood increases, resulting in yellow staining of the skin and sclera of newborns.
When breast milk jaundice occurs, it usually does not affect the health of the child, and there are no symptoms of fever or poor appetite, so no medication is needed. In mild cases, breast milk can be continued, while in severe cases, breast milk can be suspended. If mother’s milk is stopped in time, jaundice diminishes in about 2-4 days and disappears completely in 6-10 days, and this point is also diagnostic for breast milk jaundice. During the period when breastfeeding is stopped, the breasts should be emptied with a breast pump to prevent a decrease in breast lactation. The breast milk that is sucked out can be heated and boiled so that the specific substances in breast milk that cause jaundice can be destroyed and then fed to the baby.
In the case of breast milk jaundice, it does not usually cause neurological damage. There is no need to be alarmed about breast milk jaundice, as milk can be temporarily replaced when the mother’s milk is stopped, and breastfeeding can be continued when the jaundice improves. When breastfeeding is resumed, even if the jaundice worsens again, it will not reach the original level. The jaundice will gradually disappear as the months grow older. If the jaundice does not decrease after stopping breastfeeding, or if it worsens, you should take your child to the hospital again for further examination.
II. Iron deficiency anemia in infants
Breast milk has always been considered the best food for infants. Recently, Dr. Gustav Kranhoffer from the Institute of Nutrition in Dusseldorf, Germany, has found that breast milk is iron-poor food and long-term exclusive breastfeeding may lead to iron deficiency anemia in infants.
Dr. Kranhoffer pointed out that breast milk is very low in iron content, 100 grams of breast milk generally contains no more than 0.5 mg of iron, while 100 grams of formula milk (powder) can contain up to 9 mg of iron. Therefore, the longer the exclusive breastfeeding, the greater the possibility of iron deficiency anemia in children. Iron-rich formula milk (powder) can effectively prevent iron deficiency anemia in children, and the addition of iron-rich animal protein such as meat can also supplement the iron nutrition of infants. Nutritional iron deficiency anemia in children is one of the four major nutritional diseases in children, and the most common cause is improper dietary structure, so a suitable diet should be chosen. 6 to 8 months old infants should add foods containing heme iron and foods rich in vitamin C. Meat should be added to the diet as much as possible, without foods that inhibit iron absorption, and iron-rich infant formula should continue to be used after weaning, and preschool children can be prevented and treated by iron-fortified formula Iron-rich infant formula should be continued after weaning, and preschool children can be prevented and treated for iron deficiency anemia with iron-fortified formula. Pregnant women and children should supplement their daily diet with iron-rich and well-absorbed animal foods such as beef, pork, chicken, fish and hemoglobin.
III. Late-onset vitamin K deficiency
Vitamin K is divided into natural vitamins K1 and K2 (fat-soluble) and synthetic vitamins K3 and K4 (water-soluble). The function of vitamin K is to promote the synthesis of prothrombin and activate coagulation factors II, VII, IX and X for the ultimate purpose of blood clotting, so these factors are called vitamin K-dependent factors. Vitamin K deficiency can cause bleeding phenomena, the main symptoms are widespread bleeding, such as skin bleeding spots, subcutaneous hematoma, nasal bleeding, vomiting blood, blood in the stool, and injection site bleeding more than forming blue-purple petechiae, and the most serious is intracranial bleeding.
Late onset vitamin K deficiency occurs mostly in newborns less than one month old, with some occurring after one month. This is because the normal flora in the adult intestine can synthesize vitamin K for muscular needs, while newborns are born with no bacteria in the intestine and little synthesis of vitamin K. In addition, the vitamin K content in milk is low, 0.15 micrograms/liter in human milk and 0.6 micrograms/liter in cow’s milk, so breastfeeding alone is the cause of this disease. Chronic diarrhea, obstructive jaundice, and reduced intestinal synthesis are also contributing factors to the development of this disorder.
The treatment of late onset vitamin K deficiency causing hemorrhage is a combination of oral vitamin K in mild cases, and immediate vitamin K1 intravenous injection in severe hemorrhage, especially intracranial hemorrhage. The main prevention is vitamin K. Generally, normal children should take vitamin K supplementation once a week; children with congenital liver and gallbladder disease, chronic diarrhea or exclusive breastfeeding should take vitamin K supplementation once a week to once a month; lactating mothers should also take vitamin K supplementation regularly; pregnant mothers who have taken drugs that affect vitamin K metabolism during pregnancy should take appropriate amount of vitamin K supplementation before delivery.
IV. Delayed brain development
Recently, medical research found that long-term exclusive breastfeeding may lead to vitamin B12 or folic acid deficiency, not only can cause anemia, but also neurological symptoms, and even cause delayed brain development. Vitamin B12 deficiency causes macrocytic anemia, and the affected children mainly show a waxy yellow face and may have mild jaundice. The body is fat and may reach the weight limit. The appearance of neurological symptoms does not exactly parallel the degree of anemia, sometimes the anemia is not very serious or not yet obvious anemia, but also have obvious neurological symptoms. In addition to intellectual and motor lag, neurological symptoms include irregular tremors and unconscious movements of the hands and feet. Tremors are first seen in the hands, lips and tongue, followed by the upper limbs, face, head, and even the whole body. If the tremor is mild, it disappears after sleep. The most important point to determine the neurological symptoms caused by macrocytic anemia is the “regression of intelligence”, i.e., the child becomes sluggish and the skills he/she has learned deteriorate.
The main prevention of this disease is to add complementary foods on time. In addition, children can eat more folic acid, vitamin B12-rich foods, such as red cauliflower, spinach, cabbage, rape, cilantro, red cabbage, tomatoes
tomatoes, soybeans, peanuts, melon seeds, tofu, dried tofu, yeast, eggs, citrus, bananas, strawberries and malt, soybeans, kale, brown rice, oats, walnuts and animal liver, beef, milk, etc.
V. Galactosemia
Infants and children with congenital galactosemia defect, after eating breast milk and cow’s milk containing lactose, can cause abnormal galactose metabolism, resulting in the accumulation of galactose 1-phosphate and galactose, causing neurological disorders and mental retardation in infants, accompanied by cataracts, liver and kidney function damage. So in the neonatal period where there is severe vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, atrophy, liver, spleen, etc. after breastfeeding, the possibility of this disease should be highly suspected, and those who are clearly diagnosed after examination should immediately stop breastfeeding and milk products feeding, breastfeeding will make the disease worse, and special lactose free milk substitute feeding should be given.
Sixth, maple diabetes
Infants are congenitally deficient in branching keto acid decarboxylase, and amino acid metabolism abnormalities caused by feeding on breast milk are very likely to occur, with clinical manifestations characterized by feeding difficulties, vomiting and neurological symptoms. Most children have convulsions and hypoglycemia. There is an increase of branching amino acids and corresponding keto acids in the blood and urine, and a peculiar smell of urine and sweat. Babies with this disease should be given a diet low in branching amino acids, and such formulae are available abroad to avoid this damage, while breast milk can only be fed in very small amounts, otherwise the disease will be aggravated.
Seven, phenylketonuria
Phenylketonuria is an autosomal recessive disorder and a congenital disorder of amino acid metabolism. Babies with phenylketonuria have abnormal phenylalanine metabolism due to the lack of phenylalanine hydroxylase in the body. The presence of phenylalanine in breast milk and the large amount of phenylpyruvate accumulation in the brain caused by feeding will disrupt brain metabolism, leading to damage to the central nervous system and hindering brain development, resulting in mental retardation or even lifelong intellectual disability in children. After the diagnosis is clear, the child should be weaned immediately, and breastfeeding will further worsen the condition. Under the guidance of a doctor, the child should use milk powder containing low amounts of phenylketonate and consume foods that do not contain or contain less phenylketonate such as flour, lotus root powder, red dates, potatoes, millet, lamb, cabbage and spinach.
In addition, when a mother suffers from serious chronic diseases such as active tuberculosis, acute hepatitis, diabetes, malignant tumors, etc., it is easy to transmit these diseases to the child when breastfeeding, causing the infant to become ill. If a mother is breastfeeding while taking medication, many drugs can be excreted through her breast milk, resulting in a situation where the mother is sick and the child is taking medication, while the infant’s liver and kidney function are relatively poor, which can easily cause drug accumulation and lead to infant poisoning. If some breastfeeding mothers are exposed to pesticides, lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic and other chemical poisons due to their work, breastfeeding can also cause infant poisoning. If the mother suffers from acute mastitis, diarrhea, cold, fever and other acute diseases, the mother’s milk contains disease-causing bacteria or viruses, which can also be transmitted to the baby through the milk and cause disease.