Breastfeeding
With Asthma
By Roberta Barreda
Lincoln NE USA
From NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 17 No. 5, September-October 2000, p. 165
We provide articles
from our publications from previous years for reference for our Leaders and
members. Readers are cautioned to remember that research and medical information
change over time
I have four children, Carlos,
8, Jose, 6, Luis, 18 months, and Mateo, 4 months. The three oldest and
myself have asthma. Breastfeeding has been an important part of our
lives. I am still nursing the two youngest children. Because of my children's
and my own problems with asthma, we are often sick and end up in the
doctor's office and even in the hospital emergency room.
I believe that it was my
breastfeeding experience, and the way I parented Carlos as a baby that
made me able to tell when he was getting sick. I knew when he started
to get in a cranky mood and slept even less than usual that he was probably
starting to get sick. He would get colds very easily and the colds would
turn into asthma.
Yet, when his asthma was
diagnosed, I was angry for a long time. I kept thinking that I had done
all the things I was supposed to - breastfeeding, waiting until seven
months to start solids, and nursing at night while Carlos slept with
me. I stayed home, so he was not exposed to illnesses in a day care
setting. I thought that since I was nursing, he would not get sick.
After all, isn't that a basic advantage to breastfeeding?
It took me a long time to
change my point of view and realize that things would be worse if I
was not nursing. Breastfeeding in itself was not a guarantee that my
children would not develop something like asthma. After all, they have
a family history of asthma through me, and I have had some bad attacks.
I nursed Carlos until he
was 15 months old, when I was pregnant with Jose. Jose nursed until
almost four years old. Luis is still nursing, and of course, so is Mateo.
I have spent weeks in the hospital with Carlos and Jose. I have nursed
over a railing while Jose was in an oxygen tent. Luis had an attack
when Mateo was born, and I nursed both. We have nursed through many
emergency room visits. With each boy, the signs of illness are different,
but with each one, I feel that I can tell when he is starting to get
sick before he shows physical symptoms. I feel that I am closer to and
in tune with my children because of breastfeeding.
There are certainly many
hard times. I get very tired and we have weeks of illness. During those
weeks, the things that help keep me sane are lying in bed or on the
couch to nurse the babies. Since we are physically close, I can touch,
hear, and feel them to see if they are having breathing troubles. Knowing
this helps me to relax enough to get more sleep while I keep them close
to me. Getting Luis to take medication, some of which really tastes
awful, is difficult, but after he gets it, he can breastfeed. I have
learned from La Leche League about dialoguing with doctors about the
medications and treatments. Dealing this much with doctors in itself
can be difficult. It is very important to find a doctor that you can
talk to!
I go with the flow as much
as I can - parenting small children has taught me that! If I fall asleep
at 8:00 nursing the baby, it is okay. Not getting enough sleep can be
hard. NIGHTTIME PARENTING by William Sears helped me to see that the
boys are not staying awake on purpose. They are sleeping according to
their needs, and those needs change with illness. I am glad to have
breastfeeding to help comfort and heal them.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:29:41 UTC 2007.
