Question
Will my baby be okay now I stopped giving him water?
2 January 2018. Related: All topics, Children, Pregnancy.
My baby is 3 weeks 6 days, he is formula feeding and i just recently found out that i should not be giving him water when he is on nevirapine and i have stopped. What negative effects does this have on my son?
Answer
Hi
You are right that your baby doesn’t need water or any other foods – just the formula milk.
Now you have change to this it will be better.
Your son is likely to be fine now, but it is also good for your doctor and nurse to advise you on this.
Congratulations on your new son too.
Hi Langa,
I appreciate that this can be a joyousness, yet also difficult time. However, you can’t mix feed your baby. If you do there should be an increase in the risk of her testing positive. If you’re having issues with milk production, you’re going to need to give her formula.
I’m HIV positive with an undetectable viral load. I have a 3 days old daughter with zero milk production after several attempts to breastfeed. I decided to start her on formula feed.. She’s on a 6 weeks nevarapin, currently on my meds. I really want to breastfeed with all my heart.
Is it safe to continue with the nevarapin, my meds and mix feed?
Hi Nelly,
It’s great to hear that your babies tested negative at 6 weeks, this is a good sign. However, your babies are far too young to be given solid food, all they need is milk. This is important as mixed feeding (solid and milk, or formula milk and breast milk) can increase the risk of a child being positive. You babies are very young, therefore you’re going to need to stop giving them porridge and just give them milk.
If a doctor has said that they need gripe water, then yes, they can have this. However, please consult a doctor first.
Hi I’m a mother of twins and I’m HIV positive. My babies were tested at 6 weeks after stopping using zidovudine syrup and they tested negative. I’m feeding them porridge, all I want to know is the result can change when I’m going to test them again at 10 weeks because I’m feeding them? Is gripwater safe for my babies?
Hi Lungisani,
It’s good that you’re feeding him only on formula milk. And he’s on 6 weeks nevirapine. So it sounds like you’re doing all you can.
But it’s a good idea to take him to see the doctor. You can explain to them why you think he needs Panado and ask for a check up for him. Also please check with the doctor or nurse about giving him Purity soft food. This is generally not recommended for a 6 week old baby.
My baby boy his on nevirapine for 6weeks can i give him panado and purity while on NVP…..his using formula
Hi Theo,
Its great to hear that your daughter has tested negative at birth, this is a really good sign that she’ll be ok. More so because you’ve decided not to breastfeed.
With regards to the panado, this won’t cause an interaction with the ARVs that your daughter should/is on. However, unless a doctor has said that your child needs pain relief, then they shouldn’t really be being given it.
Hello
I am an HIV positive mother with a CD4 count of 888 and undectable viral load and have given birth to a beautiful baby girl. She is now 3 weeks old.
She was tested at birth and it came out negative.
My mother has given her very small dose of Panado pediatric syrup for pain at night. Will this this lead her to becoming HIV positive? I have been doing research online but cannot see anything that gives me answers. I will be seeing her pediatric in 4 weeks.
I am also exclusively formula feeding (by choice)
Hi Zoe,
The best way to look after your baby’s health is to have an undetectable viral load. It sounds like you are on treatment and undetectable. And you have chosen to exclusively to breastfeed. So you are doing everything you can to protect your baby from HIV.
So your baby doesn’t need anything else. Just your breastmilk will be fine.
If you are worried that your daughter is not doing well on exclusive breastmilk you can talk to the doctor about it.
Hello,where I live,in Africa,we are not really educated on what not to do when + and breastfeeding,I solely rely on The internet to find out some things…even on consultations upon enquring,there’s really no support for breastfeeding positive moms.There seem to be lack of education on the part of the healthcare providers as well,as most of them seem to think breastfeeding in HIV is not advisable at all.Anyway,my question is in regards to Giving baby medicines like Gripe Water …they say not to give it but don’t state why ,and if this applies only to HIV exposed breastfed babies or general rule for infants…my mother believes giving my 6 weeks old daughter gripe water will do her more good than harm ,but I always have to fight with her not to… which results in her giving it behind my back…is she putting my daughter’s life at risk…as m still exclusively breastfeeding her?