Can I Breastfeed When I Am Sick? (Or When My Baby Is Sick?)

You are lying in bed with a pounding headache, a sore throat, and a baby who is hungry. Again.

Your first instinct might be to panic: should I still nurse? Am I going to make my baby sick?

Take a breath. The answer from every major health authority is the same: yes, keep breastfeeding. In fact, nursing through illness is one of the most powerful things you can do for your baby. Here is why.

1. Common Illnesses Do Not Pass Through Breast Milk

This is the big one. Colds, flu, stomach bugs, fever, and even COVID-19 do not transmit through your breast milk.

The CDC confirms that breast milk is not a source of transmission for these common illnesses. By the time you feel symptoms, your baby has already been exposed to the germs through normal close contact.

What your milk does contain, however, is the opposite of infection. It is loaded with antibodies your body has already started producing to fight whatever you have caught.

2. Your Body Starts Making Custom Antibodies Before You Even Feel Sick

Here is the incredible part.

Your immune system detects an illness and begins producing specific antibodies before your symptoms even show up. Those antibodies transfer directly into your breast milk, giving your baby targeted protection.

The CDC states that breast milk contains antibodies and other immunological factors that help protect infants from illness, and remains the recommended source of nutrition even while a mother is unwell. UNICEF echoes this, advising that continuing to breastfeed provides babies with protection against the very illness mum is experiencing.

Your baby is essentially getting a personalised, painless vaccine with every feed.

3. When Your Baby Is Sick, Breast Milk Becomes Even More Important

If your little one comes down with a cold, ear infection, or tummy bug, breast milk is often the best thing they can keep down. It is easily digested, provides essential hydration, and delivers immune support all at once.

Research cited by KellyMom shows that breastfed babies who continue nursing through vomiting or diarrhoea illness are five times less likely to become dehydrated compared to those who stop breastfeeding. The World Health Organization recommends continuing to breastfeed during and after oral rehydration therapy.

Your baby may want to nurse more frequently but for shorter periods. That is completely normal. Follow their lead.

4. Nursing Provides Comfort That Medicine Cannot

When your baby is unwell, breastfeeding offers something no medication can: comfort and closeness. Skin to skin contact during nursing helps regulate your baby's body temperature, calms their stress response, and provides emotional security when they are feeling at their worst.

La Leche League reminds us that for a breastfed baby, nursing is more than just food. It is love and comfort too. Those extra nursing sessions during illness are not just feeding. They are healing.

5. A Few Smart Precautions Go a Long Way

While breast milk itself is safe, germs can still spread through close contact. The CDC and UNICEF recommend these simple steps:

Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before nursing or touching your baby. Consider wearing a mask if you have a respiratory illness like a cold or flu. Avoid coughing or sneezing directly on your baby. Stay hydrated, because illness and breastfeeding together can be dehydrating for you. Rest as much as possible, and do not hesitate to ask for help.

If you are too unwell to nurse directly, pump your milk so a healthy caregiver can feed it to your baby. Your milk is still doing its protective work.

The Bottom Line

Illness does not mean you need to stop breastfeeding. In almost every common situation, continuing to nurse is not just safe. It is actively protective for your baby.

Your body is doing extraordinary things behind the scenes: detecting threats, building antibodies, and delivering them straight to your little one through every feed. Even at 3am. Even when you feel awful.

So rest, hydrate, wash your hands, and keep nursing. You are your baby's best medicine.

Important note: Very few conditions require stopping breastfeeding. If you have concerns about a specific illness or medication, always check with your healthcare provider.

Learn More:

Research sources: CDC (Influenza and Breastfeeding, COVID-19 and Breastfeeding), UNICEF Parenting (Breastfeeding When Sick), La Leche League GB (When a Mother is Ill), KellyMom (Baby Illness and Breastfeeding)

Additional resources: World Health Organization, LactMed Database (National Library of Medicine)