Complications
Breastfeeding concerns
Every substance that a breastfeeding mother puts
into her body has the potential to pass to her baby
through her breast milk. This includes food, medicine,
alcohol, and cigarettes.
Foods: Foods such as dairy products, caffeine, grains
and nuts, gassy foods, and spicy foods may cause the
baby to fuss if the food upsets the baby’s stomach. If
this occurs, the mother should eliminate the suspect
food from her diet for 10-14 days to see if the trouble
stops.
Medications: Any medication taken while breast-
feeding should be approved by a doctor.
Birth control pills: The high estrogen type of birth
control pills may decrease a breastfeeding mother’s
milk supply and are not recommended. A progestin-
only pill such as the ‘‘mini-pill’’ is the least likely to
cause milk supply issues.
Alcohol: Infants have a hard time detoxifying from
the alcohol that passes through their mother’s breast
milk to them. It is recommended to limit alcohol
consumption while breastfeeding.
Cigarettes: Cigarettes contain toxins that can pass
through to the baby and are not recommended for
breastfeeding women.
When breastfeeding is not an option
Although breastfeeding is the optimal way to feed
an infant, sometimes it is not possible or feasible. A
small percentage of women have conditions that pre-
vent breast milk production, such as insufficient devel-
opment of milk production glands, and cannot
breastfeed. Women with HIV are advised against
breastfeeding as the virus may be passed to their
babies. Women who are newly diagnosed with infec-
tious tuberculosis should not breastfeed unless they
are on medication. Babies with galactosemia, a rare
genetic disorder where the infant cannot metabolize
the sugar in breast milk, cannot breastfeed.
Resources
BOOKS
La Leche League InternationalThe Womanly Art of
BreastfeedingNew York, NY: Penguin Group, 2004
Meek, Joan Younger, MD.American Academy of Pediatrics
New Mother’s Guide to BreastfeedingNew York, NY:
Bantam Dell, 2005
Sears, William, MD. and Sears, Martha, RN.The Baby
Book: everything you need to know about your baby-from
birth to age twoBoston, MA: Little, Brown and Com-
pany, 2003
ORGANIZATIONS
The American Academy of Pediatrics, 141 Northwest Point
Boulevard, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007-1098. (847)
434-4000.<http://www.aap.org>.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1600
Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA 30333. (800) 311-3435.
<http://www.cdc.gov/>.
La Leche League International, PO Box 4079, Schaumburg,
IL 60168-4079. (800) LALECHE.<http://
http://www.lalecheleague.org>.
United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), 3 United
Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017 (United States
address). (212) 686-5522.<http://www.unicef.org>.
World Health Organization, Department of Child and
Adolescent Health and Development (CAH), Avenue
Appia 20, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. (+00 41
22) 791 21 11.<http://www.who.int/child-adolescent-
health/index.htm>.Jennifer L. ByrnesBritish dietseeNorthern European diet
British Heart Foundation diet
Definition
The British Heart Foundation diet is a three day
diet that claims to allow dieters to lose 10 pounds in
three days if they follow the diet’s specific meal plan. It
was not created by nor is it endorsed by the British
Heart Foundation.Origins
The origins of the British Heart Foundation diet
are unclear. It was not created by the British Heart
Foundation as its name implies, and the British Heart
Foundation does not endorse or recommend this diet
in any way. The diet seems to circulate mainly from
person to person and on the internet.
It is not clear in which country the diet originated,
as some versions call for Ritz Crackers (an American
product), some call for Snax crackers (an Australian
product), and some call for biscuits (a British term). It
is probable that the diet developed in Britain because
of the reference to the British Heart Foundation and
because most versions call for ‘‘beetroot,’’ which is a
British term for what Americans call beets.Description
The British Heart Foundation diet is a diet that is
intended to be done over the course of three days.British Heart Foundation diet