Breastfeeding and Yeast Infection - Taming the yeast beast
March 30, 2008
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Now that it’s getting warm out, it’s time for me to write about an issue that might be affecting a nursing mommy out there: breastfeeding and yeast infection (thrush). Troubles with yeast are more common in the warmer months because yeast loves to hang out in damp warm sweaty places.
Thrush is one of those things that can creep up on a nursing mother and cause pain, even lead to her giving up breastfeeding. Sometimes women have no idea that a yeast infection is what’s causing their pain. It’s not understood very well and many women don’t even know that yeast infection of the breast exists. But it does!
I struggled with it for a long time when my oldest was born. At first it was just painful nipples, but because I didn’t know how to resolve it, it got much worse. The pain was very bad - I felt as if someone was sticking ice picks into my back. (This is because the yeast can colonize the milk producing glands high in the breast.) Even my shirt rubbing across my chest hurt. It felt like sandpaper.
I wonder how many moms have given up breastfeeding because they thought it was “supposed” to hurt like this?
I finally kicked it, but me, my baby AND baby daddy had to be treated. (Yes, it can be passed through THAT kind of contact too, and men are usually asymptomatic.) He and I took Diflucan, and that was enough to stop the cycle of transmitting it back and forth.
As was mentioned before, sometimes a breastfeeding mother will suffer from pain during nursing which she thinks is “normal”. But breastfeeding is not supposed to hurt. Repeat after me: pain with breastfeeding is common, not normal. If everyone knows what they’re doing and there are no anatomical anomolies (I just love saying that!), then there won’t be any pain. I had no pain nursing babies 2, 3 and 4 because we didn’t have this issue.
What often precipitates yeast troubles is that mother takes antibiotics around her birth (often in the case of a Cesarean delivery or a postpartum urinary tract infection) and comes down with symptoms. The baby may have thrush in his mouth, or he may not. He may have a diaper rash or he may not. But the baby and Mom pass the yeast infection back and forth. Baby may even be fussy at the breast. Mom thinks it’s “her milk”, and weans. This is a sad outcome.
While it is “normal” (again - in the sense of common) to experience some soreness with the initiation of breastfeeding, especially in the first time Mom, this should be little more than a temporary discomfort that goes away after the first few days or weeks. The tissue is becoming used to a new activity. It Mom is having PAIN, that is not normal and is a sign that something is wrong. Normal soreness typically only hurts when baby first latches on, then subsides as the feeding continues. Yeast hurts all the time, even when baby isn’t feeding and gets worse over time.If Mom has seen a Lactation Consultant or La Leche League leader and corrected any problems with latch on or positioning and baby’s anatomy is normal, she should suspect yeast.
This is especially true if Mom has had antibiotics, eats a high sugar diet, baby has any signs of thrush (white patches in the mouth, crying/fussing when feeding, diaper rash) or Mom’s partner suffers from yeast related symptoms (itching in the boy bits, although as I said, men usually get off scott free in this area).Keep in mind that weaning won’t make the yeast go away. It will just move to the vagina or gut if Mom weans the baby (it’s probably already there anyway), and the baby will have pain in his mouth when he bottle feeds also. Better to just get rid of the yeast altogether. Shall we?
Natural Treatments For Breast Yeast And Infant Thrush
Baking soda
Baking soda can be an effective treatment for thrush. It changes the ph of the skin, inhibiting fungal growth. You can make a paste of baking soda and water and apply it to Mom’s nipples. Rinse off before feeding the baby. Baby can also take baths with a little baking soda sprinkled in the water, which will soothe any yeasty diaper rash (it looks bright red and hurts).
Vinegar
Vinegar also kills yeast by changing the alkaline/acid balance of the skin, in the opposite way that baking soda does (obviously you would choose one or the other, not both treatments!). It can be irritating to the skin however, so care is needed. One tablespoon added to a cup of water and applied to Mom’s nipples several times a day with a cotton pad can help.
Olive and coconut oil are highly nutritious for lactating women and should be used daily in the diet. Both have antifungal properties and coconut oil in particular is excellent for immune system health. Coconut oil is delicious for baking, added to smoothies, used to cook eggs, etc. Olive oil is delicious in soups, casseroles, used to cook meats, etc. Olive oil and coconut oil can also be taken straight from the spoon.
Olive Oil and Coconut Oil
Some moms have had success applying a bit of oil to their nipples. both for pain and to help heal the infection. I wouldn’t recommend leaving it on if the baby is a newborn, but it’s fine for older babies who are eating solid foods.
Don’t shy away from healthy fats if you’re in your reproductive years ladies. These two fats don’t make you fat. Nursing Mothers all over the world since the beginning of time have thrived on high fat diets. Low fat is not healthy for the lactating or pregnant woman. And eating cheap oils means the fat in your breastmilk is of lower quality.
Strict Hygiene
Fungus is very hardy. Good hygiene is important if you want to prevent reoccurence. Wash your nursing bras and pads, panties and cloth diapers in hot water and do a double rinse. Add vinegar to the first rinse to help kill yeast and prevent irritation from detergents. Wash your hands well with hot soapy water after using the toilet or changing diapers.
If you’re using any bottles or pacifiers, boil them before use. Throw away nipples and pacifiers after treating the thrush and buy new ones. Or better yet don’t use them if at all possible. Be sure to sanitize your breast pump parts too if you use one.
Avoid plastic backed nursing pads. They create moisture and heat which yeast loves. Use cloth nursing pads instead. Go braless when you can to let the breasts air out. And don’t use any type of soap on the breasts, ever.It’s a good idea for Mom and baby to use their own towels and washcloths for awhile. Launder them separately, using the vinegar rinse mentioned above. If it’s hot and sunny out, hang them in the sun to help kill yeast.
Wipe baby’s mouth with a clean wet washcloth or cloth napkin after feeding.
Herbal/Supplements
Garlic and Pau d’Arco have antifungal and immune building properties. Native Remedies is a good source of these and other anti candida supplements. Caprylic acid and oregano oil are also antifungal, and they’re found in Yeast Assassin.
Nutrition
Another thing that will help is supplementing with probiotics. Eat plenty of plain yogurt, kefir and cultured veggies like homemade sauerkraut. These kinds of foods contain lots of beneficial bacteria that help keep the yeast in check in the gut. It’s also very important to eliminate sugar while treating yeast infections. This will be hard because you’ll crave it something terrible! But stay strong and remove sugar, white flour, all junk food and simple carbs (white rice and even fruit) for awhile. Eat plenty of meat and protein, and tons of vegetables while you’re clearing the infection.
There are some prescription medications that you can get for yeast troubles from your baby’s Pediatrician or your OB/GYN. One is Nystatin. It’s commonly prescribed as a liquid suspension. It’s sticky and full of sugar. I hated using that stuff. It didn’t work, and it only made me and the baby and my clothes stick together like glue. And the sugar content - hello!
Another old fashioned remedy is Gentian Violet, sold in some pharmacies. I tried this one too and it’s messy to work with because it stains everything bright purple. I couldn’t take my baby out for a week because he looked like Papa Smurf. And I had to wear an old purple T shirt so as not to ruin my entire wardrobe. But it is pretty effective. There are some concerns about Gentian Violet being carcinogenic with long term exposure, but it typically only has to be used for a day or two to work so most people who care about babies and mothers say it’s ok for this short term use. It’s also very inexpensive and available without a Doctor’s prescription or even a visit to the office.
Diflucan was the ticket for me. Along with the nutrition and other self help measures listed above, we finally kicked it for good. The thing with Diflucan is that a lot of Doctors who are ignorant of how breastfeeding works will tell you that it’s not safe for nursing moms. That’s pretty ridiculous because Diflucan is prescribed for premature infants! Medications and Mother’s Milk is considered the authoritative source on the safety of various drugs for breastfeeding women and Diflucan gets the ok. As for me, we had tried everything else first and the meds helped me get relief, fast so it was worth it.
Have you ever had breast yeast and what did you do about it? Do tell!
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When my daughter was about 1 month old, she developed Thrush, and she’s a breastfed baby. However, I did not develop the symptoms of Thrush on my nipples, but I treated my daughter’s mouth as well as my nipples with Nystatin. The treatment was successful. The article here mentions probiotic, which I take daily, and I give it to my daughter one time per day as well. She was born via C-section, and I have recently learned that children born via C-section do not ingest the intestinal flora (vaginally delivered babies get this from their mother’s vaginal canal) that regulates healthy digestion, making them more suceptible to candida overgrowth (Alternatives, Volume 11, No. 19, Dr. David Williams). So, especially for you mom’s whose babies were brought into the world via C-section, get your children some probiotic. You can find it in health food stores. However, I use and recommend the Probiotic from Transformation Enzyme Corporation, which I obtain from a Naturopathic Doctor. Probiotic has also work wonders clearing up food allergies.
I am with child and an intolerance to yeast, gluten, lactose, vinegar and wheat has arose in this pregnancy. I have been studying candida, yeast allergies, and food allergies the past several months and have come to the determination that YEAST IS NOT GOOD FOR US. I have substituted with baking soda and baking powder (which really does improve your alkaline levels in your body). It’s even good to take baking soda with water or juice every day as a supplement to balance your alkaline (did you know that disease/viruses/bacteria cannot live in a body that is alkaline???!!!). Make sure the baking soda and powder you buy is NON GMO (Genet. Modified Organism)!!! Otherwise you will not receive it’s true benefits. Yeast is a fugus/mold. Other alkaline helpers are: pineapple and hydrogen peroxide (non gmo food grade) and probably much more. Other probiotics are: Aloe (juice or whole leaf is best taken orally), Grapefruit seed extract (orally), alive Acidophilus, oil of oregano (I take this every day 1-2 drops for pregnant women), Garlic (this helps with EVERYTHING) taken fresh and organic preferred, and so much more! I developed a rash in the beginning of my pregnancy due to YEAST overgrowth, as I changed my diet and began to use some probiotics I noticed the awful rash to disappear. I will keep with this diet when I nurse so that I don’t develop THRUSH. Have fun researching!
Hi, great article! I had thrush while breastfeeding (it was many years ago), and I wish I had known more then.
I found a good site with information for pregnant or breastfeeding women. There is lots of information about what supplements to take, and also a page with information on yeast infections and what vitamins might help as well as other things.
Thanks again for the information and good luck to all of you!
-Eleanor
I dealt with thrush with three of my seven children while nursing them. As soon as I started itching I knew what it was. I ended up having to get antibiotics for the baby and a cream for me because it would just go full blow overnight and be horrendous. I wish I had know of the more natural alternatives then. I discovered that it was the nursing pads I was using that was causing it. I shucked them after I identified the culprit. Of course, it wasn’t until the third round of nursing a baby that I figured it out. I wished I had discovered it a lot sooner.
It’s amazing that most “doctors” out there don’t know that you can have yeast in your milk ducts. With my second son, I started having these shooting pains in the sides of my breasts and noone knew what was causing them. I researched all over the internet until I found Jack Newmans information and figured it out by myself. That time, I got anti-biotics because I didn’t know what else to do. With my next baby, it felt totally different. It started as sore nipples. It got so bad that I developed a hole in the skin on my nipple, that was excruciating every time my baby nursed. I finally had to stop nursing her for a few days to let it heal - that was one of the hardest things I’ve EVER had to do…………..I took a good probiotic (Nature’s Way), and cut out ALL sugars- even vegetabes with sugar (like beets). It was a great diet , I lost a couple pounds, but it was really hell to go through. Now I implore women that whenver they feel any discomfort they should talk to a profesional lactation consultant about it BEFORE it becomes really painful. Giving up the foods you like for a few weeks is nothing compared to a big hole in your nipple!!!
Wow ladies. Thanks to each of you for sharing your stories. Hopefully they’ll be helpful to a lot of other moms who find themselves in the same situation!
I’ve told mine a gazillion times before (with candida and the baby’s thrush), but I had to chime in and say that coconut oil is fabulous! We use it in our cooking every day. It’s tasty, seems to last a long time and you gotta love the health benefits of it. Great post about this issue, Carrie. If I get pregnant again I’ll know how to handle such issues should they arrise.
When i had my first child 5 1/2 years ago i had a lot of trouble with breastfeeding and it wound up that he also had feeding problems i eventually gave up and he wound up on Alimentum Formula (to make a long story short). When i became pregnant this time i was very determined that breastfeeding would work. I sought out for everything that could possible make breast feeding easier when i came across this product made by Advent there silicone nipple protectors that can be worn over you nipple if your having latching problems or sore nipples. My new baby is now 9weeks old and i’ll tell you in those first few weeks they were a great help. So while i haven’t yet had a problem with thrush i would imagine that they would work great to form a barrier so you both you and baby could heal and not continuously spread the thrush back and forth. (i’ve only seen this product in babies r us and baby depot.)
I’m glad I read your article, because I’ve really neglected pregnancy and breast yeast infections in my own blog. I love those natural remedies ideas, especially the baking soda one, because I’ve never heard anything about banking soda as a yeast infection treatment before. Perhaps I’ll make breast yeast infections a topic of a future article.
I hope you don’t mind if I link this post on my blog.
Thanks for the great article,
Brittany
[...] infection thrush. Troubles with yeast are more common in the warmer months because yeast loves to hahttp://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/breastfeeding-yeast-infection/zinc-oxide/cornstarch rash treatment for pocket diapers …… physical punishment, formula feeding, [...]
homemade beauty remedies…
Thanks, this is good stuff. You are spot on….
[...] (thrush). Troubles with yeast are more common in the warmer months because yeast loves to hahttp://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/breastfeeding-yeast-infection/Nystatin and Triamcinolone … Excretion in breast milk unknown … nystatin is an antifungal agent [...]
[...] [...]
[...] Breastfeeding and yeast infection - taming the yeast beast [...]
There is a post on here about breast shields possibly preventing yeast. Not so. The impatient nurse at the hospital gave me a shield when we had problems with latch. (Silly - I learned later that a few moments on a pump would draw out the nipple for the baby just fine.) I developed very painful yeast. It seemed like sore nipples but then got into the ducts - it was sore and hot during the whole feeding and then afterwards also. By the time I diagnosed myself with help from Dr. Mom’s guide, I had a serious yeast problem. The midwives made me try the Nystatin for three months before they gave me the Diflucan. (I had to have the lactation consultant tell the women that they have given the medicine to babies with yeast overgrowth.) In the meantime I tried everything, but I think the warm weather (summer baby) and the shield, as well as too small nursing bras made it worse. I did notice that when I cut any and all sugar in my diet and took garlic and ate plain yogurt every day - the yeast subsided. It never really left though - and then the moment I had a piece of pie it was back and very punishing. Be careful of the shield. I understand it helps a lot of folks, but I think that there are some nurses out there who give them to anyone who is having trouble, to make everyone stop crying, without really being educated. I don’t think a lactation consultant would have given me a shield. But I couldn’t deal with the shield issue and the yeast at the same time. And then once the yeast was gone, he was so use to the shield. It was very inconvenient. Although I did manage to breastfeed him for almost a year - and had a very positive experience nursing overall despite the early problems and the shield.