Yeast infections in breastfeeding mothers and babies are relatively common. The hallmark symptom is a sudden onset of burning or needle-like nipple pain after a period of pain-free nursing, without any other obvious cause. Mom’s pain may start on one side and then develop on the other side, hurt more at night and sometimes between feeds. There may be no nipple damage or rash on mom. Babies sometimes (but not always) have oral thrush (white patches on the insides of their cheeks/gums/tongue that cannot be rubbed off) or a shiny red diaper rash that doesn’t clear up with usual creams. Babies may be fussy while nursing and come on and off the breast as if they are in pain, or may show no symptoms at all. As you can see, a yeast infection is sometimes hard to pin down. If you suspect you have a yeast infection, go to your clinic for assessment. With the proper treatment, breastfeeding yeast infections usually clear up in a short time. We recommend that both mom and baby are treated, even if one doesn’t have symptoms, because the untreated individual can re-infect the other. Yeast is part of most people’s normal flora, and each individual’s balance is different. This is why a yeast infection might bother mom and not the baby, and visa versa. Please contact us if you have any questions!
DISCLAIMER: We know when you surf the web for information, you can get conflicting results, and it’s not easy to know whether you are finding evidence-based, high quality recommendations. That’s part of our job here at Kodiak KINDNESS; we are here to support your informed decisions about infant feeding through your baby’s first year. We’ve done some background work, and to the best of our knowledge, this post reflects current best practices. However, the information contained in this post and any links contained herein is for your informational use only; it is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Furthermore, Kodiak KINDNESS is not responsible for the accuracy of any information contained in this post or links contained herein; it is for you to review at your own risk and discuss, as needed, with your health care professional in order to make a plan that suits your individual circumstances.