Breastfeeding a baby with epilepsy

[mrsmimby]

Hi,

I wondered if anyone had any tips on breastfeeding my baby who has been diagnosed with epilepsy, please? In particular I want to know:

• If there are any foods/drinks I should avoid?
  If there is any particular diet I should adopt (I have been reading about ketognic diets, but have no idea if I adopt it will any benefits be passed on to my baby?
  Are there any supplements I should take or avoid? - e.g. evening primrose oil, other sources of omegas 3, 6 & 9, and B vitamins?
  If any research has been done about this topic?

Thank you so much if you can help with any of this. It feels like such a small window of opportunity (the period for which you breastfeed) and I want to get it right and not waste any time in doing so.

Thank you

Mrs M

[Dutch mom]

(I have been reading about ketognic diets, but have no idea if I adopt it will any benefits be passed on to my baby?

Hello Mrs M, welcome on CWE,

I didn't breastfeed my babies so I can't give you advice about that.
I have 3 kids, twins (boy & girl age 6) and my eldest son (age 10) who has a bad childhood E-syndrome called Lennox Gastaut syndrome. He is on the ketogenic diet for over 5 years which does control his seizures for 80-90%. He's med free since 4+ years now.

But as you were refering to the ketogenic diet: this is not a diet you can do yourself, being a mom to a baby with E. It's a diet for kids with (a maligne type of) epilepsy and is worth a try when meds don't help.

The KD can be done by young children and babies. If your baby is diagnosed with an intractable type of epilepsy or when he/she has one of certain childhood epilepsy syndromes, meds usually don't work. In these cases it's worth trying the ketogenic diet for him/her. There's a formula called Ketocal (or Ketocal Infant in a lower ratio for very young kids) made by Nutricia. The diet is only on prescription and with good guidance and monitoring by a ketogenic dietist and a neurologist.

Never try the KD on your own! This can be dangerous for your child!

More info on the KD on www.matthewsfriends.org

[Loudmouth]

DON'T take evening primrose oil, it is known to cause seizures, and according to my last OB consultant, does come through in small quantities in the breast milk. As for anything else, I would advise not eating or drinking anything with aspartame in, as that can also be present in your milk, (and quite a few people have found that eliminating sweeteners from thier diet lowers the amount of seizures) oh, and a daft one that is nothing to do with epilepsy, grapes will give a baby a runny tummy.

[Nakamova]

Avoid if you can: alcohol, caffeine, stimulants in general, foods with MSG. The foods that are generally healthy for you should be okay for her too, unless you have specific instructions otherwise from your doctor. If you're looking for oils high in Omega 3s, better to go with flax oil rather than fish oil (because of potential mercury).

[Bernard]

Hi Mrs. M, welcome to the forum.

Congrats on your baby and your decision to breastfeed. Mother's milk is the best possible food for the baby.

I would think the biggest concern is if you are taking any medications/chemicals that pass through the milk. Your body should balance the nutrients in the milk if you eat a decent diet.

[mrsmimby]

Hi all,

Thank you very much for all your tips. I will take on board everything you have all said. My local epilepsy nurse has already told me not to drink any alcohol (and I thought just nine months without a sip was enough!!). I had no idea about sweeteners nor MSG - I will cut out these too. Looks like I am gonna be a super-healthy mum!!

If anyone has any other tips I will be glad to hear them too, and I will post up anything else I hear too - in case there are any other mums in the same boat as me wondering what to do to best help their baby.

Mrs M x

[skillefer]

I'm a new mum too. Don't forget to stay away from the certain OTC meds for colds and congestion. Believe it or not, they can trigger seizures in people with E. Don't know if it would leach through to the breastmilk, but I wouldn't want to take the chance. Just make sure that you try to make breastfeeding time calm and enjoyable. My baby loves it so much that she falls asleep. Doc says that was good. It means shes not stressed then, and that she feels safe and comfortable. I'd try to keep the amount of stimuli in the background like low too. And definitely don't feed her where there's flickering lights. Flickering lights can trigger seizures too. But most of all, don't panic. Even if your child has a seizure while feeding. If so, just make sure to position them so that if they spit up, they won't choke on it. And don't let them sleep on their tummy. Babies can pick up on moods...so try to approach feeding time in a calm and happy mood.

[RobinN]

If eating beans can give your little one the "toots" then by all means your nutritional choices can certainly effect other organs.

In addition, any dental work done during pregnancy can also be passed to the fetus. More than likely through breast milk as well.
Do what you can, but by all means leave the rest to faith, and enjoy the experience. Nothing more precious when it works correctly.

[fiona]

Hi all,

Thank you very much for all your tips. I will take on board everything you have all said. My local epilepsy nurse has already told me not to drink any alcohol (and I thought just nine months without a sip was enough!!). I had no idea about sweeteners nor MSG - I will cut out these too. Looks like I am gonna be a super-healthy mum!!

If anyone has any other tips I will be glad to hear them too, and I will post up anything else I hear too - in case there are any other mums in the same boat as me wondering what to do to best help their baby.

Mrs M x

Don't forget you can "Pump and Dump". So if you wish to enjoy a few alcoholic beverages for example, express beforehand to make up feeds and then express and throw away after you've drank the alcohol. Very little gets in the milk though and the body is very effective at getting rid of the alcohol in our bodies...

I think you're FANTASTIC for breastfeeding your baby. Well Done.

I'm going to contact some LLL Leaders and ask them if they have any information on this subject for you.

[Pipsee]

I still breastfeed my little one occasionally (she's just over 2!)... haven't had a drink in over 3 years!

hehehe

[Rhea]

my daughter breast feeds her 5 month old. The only thing she worries about is when he gets teeth. Man, that would hurt!!!!

[skillefer]

Ohhh...yeah. it hurts. Trust me...I know.....