Breast-feeding is recognized as beneficial in building a bond between mother and child and has been shown to promote a strong immune system for the infant. However, babies can acquire diseases and allergies through the mother's milk that can manifest symptoms such as mucus and blood in the stool. If your infant has copious amounts of mucus in the stool, seek medical help immediately to prevent dehydration and serious illness.
Parasitic Infection
Mucus in the stool of an infant may be symptomatic of a parasitic infection. Giardiasis is one of the causes of "traveler's diarrhea" that infects the gastrointestinal tract and can be fatal in infants. A study in "The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene" investigated the effects of breast-feeding on Egyptian infants infected by the protozoan Giardia lamblia. The study included 152 infants up to 1-year-old with an active infection and found that breast-fed infants had fewer clinical symptoms, including mucus in the stool. The authors concluded that breast-feeding is an effective means to prevent severe manifestations of giardiasis.
Allergies
Allergic reactions to cow's milk from the maternal diet can result in mucus in the stools of infants. A study published in the "Journal of Pediatric and Gastroenterological Nutrition" assessed the effectiveness of Lactobacillus, a naturally occurring, milk-loving, intestinal bacteria, as a treatment for breast-fed infants with rectal bleeding and mucus in the stool due to milk allergies. The researchers tested the efficacy and safety of Lactobacillus in infants younger than 6 months old and found no difference in the mucus in stools of the Lactobacillus-treated group and a placebo group.
Loose Stool
Mucus in the stool of infants may not necessarily be a sign of an infection, as determined by a clinical study published in the December 2010 issue of the "Korean Journal of Pediatrics." In this study, researcher analyzed babies less than 2 years old with chronically loose stools. Of the 46 patients studied, only 10 were found to be caused by dehydration, infection or nutritional deficiency. The study concluded that mucus in the stool of breast-fed babies was not always indicative of a diseased state.
Cyclosporiasis
Cyclosporiasis is an infection caused by the protozoan Cyclospora cayetanensis, which are regularly found in water polluted with human feces. The symptoms of cyclosporiasis in an infant include mucus and blood in loose stools. An article appearing in the November 1999 issue of "Emerging Infectious Diseases" found that breast-feeding did not appear to have an impact on the progression of the disease. Although the authors found that breast-feeding had a minimally protective role, it was not statistically significant.
References
- "Emerging Infectious Diseases"; Epidemiologic Studies of Cyclospora cayetanensis in Guatemala; C. Bern, et al.; November 1999
- "Korean Journal of Pediatrics"; What Is the 'Objective' Differential Factor of Diarrhea in Infancy?: Normal State Versus Diarrheal Illness in Infants with Chronic Frequent and Loose Stool; J. Hwang, et al.; December 2010
- "Journal of Pediatric and Gastroenterological Nutrition"; Lack of Effect of Lactobacillus GG in Breast-Fed Infants with Rectal Bleeding: A Pilot Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial; H. Szajewska, et al.; August 2007
- "The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene"; Impact of Breast-Feeding on Giardia lamblia Infections in Bilbeis, Egypt; M. Mahmud, et al.; September 2001
