I dont understand it either.

Thank you for your comment. Laxatives can be used safely during preconception and pregnancy as long as you avoid getting diarrhea and getting dehydrated. Laxatives are not absorbed into the bloodstream but work in the intestines so pose no risk to babies in that way. We recommend choosing a natural laxative like ground flax seed, metamucil, or Senna as a starting point. Start with a small dose and increase as needed slowly until you are having at least one good bowel movement every day.

Thank you for your comments. Below is some additional information on breastfeeding and the COVID-19 coronavirus. Dear patients, I can understand that there is a great deal of anxiety about coronavirus and pregnancy and breastfeeding. There is so much we do not know. And sometimes the recommendations get promoted in the press without the appropriate context. Here is some context regarding the CDC and ACOG and WHO recommendations about breastfeeding with COVID-19. There is a risk of breastfeeding babies to contract coronavirus from their mothers of course. The coronavirus does not appear to be/is unlikely to be transmitted via breastmilk. Some newborns have been reported to contract coronavirus shortly after birth and we think that this is due to close contact with their mothers who were not necessarily wearing PPE or doing other safety measures. However, we have no idea whether these babies were breastfed or not. In fact, there is no data about the risk of coronavirus specifically in breastfed babies. On the other hand, there is a great deal of information that breastfeeding prevents infectious diseases of many sorts in young children. So, when the CDC is making public health recommendations, they have to carefully consider the far reaching consequences of such recommendations. In this situation, we know breastfeeding will prevent other infectious illnesses and there is a possibility that it will actually (through transmitted antibodies) allow babies to have some protection from coronavirus itself. For those reasons, the CDC and the World Health Organization have not recommended routine separation and lack of breastfeeding in women who are COVID+. They recommend instead that each women receive guidance about the possible risks and benefits and make her own decision about whether to breastfeed. If women with active COVID-19 do choose to breastfeed, we recommend that they follow certain procedures including wearing masks, hand washing, cleansing the breast prior to suckling, using a dedicated pump, etc. Also, we recommend that these women are isolated from their infants when not breastfeeding. Here are some additional online resources : www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/pregnancy-breastfeeding.html and here: www.acog.org/patient-resources/faqs/pregnancy/coronavirus-pregnancy-and-breastfeeding#Can%20COVID19%20pass%20to%20a%20baby%20through%20breast%20milk aand here: www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/emergencies/COVID-19-pregnancy-ipc-breastfeeding-infographics/en/ -- Rachel Peragallo-Urrutia, MD

@@replyfertility I do not fault you for simply echoing the CDC's/WHO recommendations about breastfeeding while a mother is covid-19 positive. How bad would a mother feel knowing that she was covid-19 positive and went along breastfeeding her baby then her baby gets infected and dies. If a person knows he or she has a highly contagious and deadly virus (as we are told) and willfully exposes a baby to it would that not be criminal child endangerment? We are told that the disease spreads by means of respiratory droplets. Ever see how close a mother's face is to a baby's face while breastfeeding? Closer than 6 feet for sure. Regardless, instinctively, any mother who feels ill or feverish (or knows that she is covid-19 positive) will not be breastfeeding their baby. The CDC/WHO is suspicious here.

I am not in the medical industry but I have enough common sense to NOT BREASTFEED my baby if I have been tested positive for covid-19. If YOU were ill and tested positive with covid-19, ill with symptoms such as fever, body aches and pains, unable to breathe properly with diarrhea, would you breastfeed you baby? Of course not. But if you did breastfeed your baby knowing that you had the highly contagious and deadly virus and you baby got ill or died, would you not be criminally charged with child endangerment? I suggest that you think for yourself and stop echoing the advisories of the CDC and World Health Organization. Not one mother in the world who knows that she is covid-19 positive would breastfeed her baby. Intuition, instinct and common sense would prevent her from doing so. BTW, now we are seeing Pediatric Multi-Symptom Inflammatory Syndrome related to covid-19. Thanks a lot for your advice CDC/WHO!!!