Question
My family are giving my baby water, is this OK?
4 April 2017. Related: All topics, Children.
I’m HIV+ mother and my baby is 3wèeks old . My CD4 count was 311 and undetectable viral load. I’m breastfeeding her and my family don;t know about my status. She tested HIV – n. Shes taking her meds as well (nvp). My worry is that now my mom believe the baby needs water so we giving her water almost every day and my breast milk is not enough for her as shes always sucking me. They say she doesn’t get full so we must feed her. I would to know what are the chances of my baby being HIV +
Answer
Thanks for getting in touch.
And congratulations on the birth of your daughter. Its also great to hear that she’s already tested negative.
Your family giving your daughter won’t influence her possible status. However, babies who are this young don’t need water. What they need is milk, and milk alone. If you feel like you aren’t producing enough milk, you may need to change to formula. However, if you do this, you must not mix feed.
The best thing to do would be to speak to your babies doctor. They will be able to tell you if she’s growing or not. If its any help some babies suckle more than others.
I would like to to ask my sister is not producing enough milk and the baby does not want t suck her breast. Baby tested negative and was given the syrup. My sister viral load is less than 20 copies..
So she ended up using the breast pump and sometime the baby will suck her breast and which the milk was not enough. She put the baby on formula she mix feeding. Will that affect the baby s status.
And is gripe water affect the baby’s status?
Hi Sibongile,
Its OK to switch to formula milk, in fact in most countries this is the prefered infant feeding option when a mother is positive. The important thing is that you don’t mix feed, so breast milk and formula.
You’ve said that your family want to give your child medication, what is it that they are wanting to give her? Its important that an medication your child is given doesn’t interact with the nevirapine.
Hi Doc
My baby is 10 days old and she’s on nevirapine. My family doesn’t know my status and have been giving her gripe water. I have tried protecting her but i don’t win. I am breastfeeding and so far, I am not sure about my viral load. She’s been constipated and I don’t know the cause, and now they want to feed her meds. Is it too early to switch to fomular feeding or should i wait until at least 6 weeks?
Hi Lesley,
As Lisa says on this question, what babies need is milk. Are you able to feed him with formula? HIV positive mothers should not mix feed with both breast milk and formula. So formula alone should be fine. If you’re not able to give him formula then you can breastfeed exclusively for 6 months and then wean him onto soft food.
If you have only given him water for the past 4 weeks he’s not getting enough nutrients to help him grow and stay strong. Please talk to your doctor or nurse about this Lesley.
Plss i need help
My baby is weeks and i hve been giving him water for d past 4weeks plss i want to stop it
I really want to know if it will have any effect on him since is nt adviceable to gve babies water till 6months
Hi Charlotte,
Many thanks. Yes, you should give her the syrup as prescribed by the hospital.
Hi Lisa
Thank you for taking your time and answering all our questions. It means a lot!
My daughter is taking the Nevira pine syrup that we got from the hospital. I stopped breastfeeding her. Should I continue with giving her the syrup until shes 6 weeks as prescribed?
Hi Charlotte,
Your daughter being given water won’t have impact on her possible status. However if she’s a young baby she doesn’t really need water.
With regards to knowing your daughters status she will need to be tested, please see here: http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy/hiv-negative
What medication is she being given?
Good day
I’m a HIV+ mom. I don’t know the results of my daughter as the systems where not working when I took her for 3 days check up. I did not know that I was not supposed to mix feed my daughter. As a result, she was on formula and breastmilk for two weeks. I immediately switched to formula only when I read that I’m not supposed to mix feed. My question is; should I proceed giving her the syrup and if she’s in danger. One of the reasons I decided on EFF my daughter is that my mom keeps giving her water and medication. Is water also dangerous?
Hi Nocy,
If you’re breastfeeding then your baby should be on ARVs. Are you able to talk to your baby’s doctor about this.