Question
A friend’s child has been suffering from diarrhea recently, and the parents are very worried. Can they stop breastfeeding now? What can they feed the child? I gave the child some date paste; can the child eat that?
Answer
For infants who are breastfed, it is not necessary to stop breastfeeding when diarrhea occurs. Instead, simply reduce the feeding amount, shorten the feeding time, and extend the feeding intervals. The mother should also avoid consuming high-fat foods. Before each feeding, she can drink a large bowl of warm water to dilute the breast milk, which can help alleviate the baby’s diarrhea symptoms. For infants on formula or mixed feeding, date paste can be consumed during diarrhea as it aids in promoting gastrointestinal recovery. If the condition is severe, temporarily stop feeding milk and other staple foods. The fasting period is generally 6 to 8 hours, and it should not exceed 12 hours at the longest.