Home > Parenting Resources > Breastfeeding > Antibiotics and Children---Does Breastfeeding Help?
Children are especially at risk, for as any parent can testify, kids get sick more often than anyone else. Today one out of every three pediatric visits results in an antibiotic prescription. For example, moxicillin, the drug of choice for childhood ear infections, accounted for 18 million prescriptions. How do bacteria become drug-resistant? One way is by an accident of birth. One bacterium in, say a billion is born with some chromosomal quirk that grants it protection from and antibiotic attack. This "mutant" will pass along that protective gene to its offspring. Bacteria breed with incredible speed, making it possible for a single resistant germ to give rise to millions of resistant offspring within hours. Possible but not probable--because billions of other bacteria within the human body are also jostling for "food and housing" in the same location. Their presence usually holds the resistant mutants in check. Today milliions of children are still receiving frequent, repeated antibiotic treatments, often without parents even being aware that their children run an increased risk of multidrug-resistant infection. New born babies are protected for several months if a mother choses to breast feed her child from most infections. Our Earth Mama Baby Breast Feeding Support Kit seems to be a tremendous help for mothers who chose breast feeding for their child. So what should parent do about these antibiotics? 1. Don't pressure your pediatrician to prescribe an antibiotic. Most physicians say they could cut back on antibiotic prescriptions anywhere from ten to 50 percent without compromising on care. 2. Wherever possible, take a culture. Most respiratory illnesses aren't due to bacteria but to viruses, which aren't affected by antibiotics. Today bacteria can be detected from throat swabs within five minutes, in many instances. Where a test takes overnight, wait for the results before starting antibiotics. 3. If an antibiotic is prescribed, treatment should begin with a "first choice" drug. Amoxicillin, for example, is effective aginst more common germs. Escaltating instantly to a "big gun" antibiotic will risk altering a child's bacterial balance--making room for new germs and infections, and possibly a superbug. 4. Once antibiotics are begun, continue them for the full length of treatment even if symptoms abate. Any shorter course may allow the more resistant bacteria to repopulate. {sc} |
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