Breast milk or congenital Lyme disease transmission?

[Chelskitychelskity]

Hello,

I am looking for current studies regarding Lyme disease transmission to infant during pregnancy or through breastfeeding. I am a mother of 4 children. I am newly diagnosed with Lyme disease after 10 years of symptoms. Two of my children show possible signs of being infected. No history of tick bites in either. My youngest is 11 months and exclusively breastfeeding. I was looking to be participant or donate breast milk for research? I have not yet started treatments.

Any suggestion how to proceed in finding such is appreciated.

[cpride]

Dear Chelskitychelskity,

Lyme disease is caused by infection with the spirochete, borrelia burgdorferi. Antigenic material from the spirochete is found in breastmilk although we do not know if it is infectious. The spirochete is also known to be passed in-utero to the fetus. Once diagnosed, mothers should be treated with antibiotics. The antibiotic of choice in pregnancy is erythromycin. There are several medication choices during breastfeeding such as amoxicillin, cefuroxime, clarithromycin, and azithromycin. You should begin treatment as soon as possible. Your pediatrician should evaluate your children for possible infection. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website also has information on Lyme Disease that you may find helpful.

Sincerely,
Cindy Pride, MSN, CPNP
TTUHSC InfantRisk Center

[Blessing]

Chelskitychelskity,

It seems your question wasn't answered. Dr. Hale was looking for BFing mothers to participate in research, about a year ago. I do not know the status of that search. I urge you to pursue this further.

Please do not see a regular pediatrician for your children. Find a LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor) such as Dr. Jones ([url]http://www.drjoneskids.com/[/url]).

Other superb sources to consider are:
1) ILADS: [url]http://www.ilads.org/[/url]

Here is an overview of the Lyme Controversy:
[url]http://lymefacts.webs.com/thecontroversy.htm[/url]

Here are a few research sources regarding BFing and Lyme:
[url]http://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/illness-surgery/lyme-disease/[/url]

Because you believe you've been infected for while, a simple course of several weeks of ABX will be unsuccessful. The disease is disseminated and will need long term treatment.

Blessing

[Chelskitychelskity]

Do you know how I would contact Dr Hale or find out about participation in his studies?