Diarrhoea

Supporting Information

Breastmilk is the best source of liquid and food for a young child with diarrhoea. It is nutritious and clean and helps fight illness and infections. An infant who is fed only breastmilk is unlikely to get diarrhoea.

Breastmilk prevents dehydration and malnutrition and helps replace lost fluids. Mothers are sometimes advised to give less breastmilk if a child has diarrhoea. This advice is wrong. Mothers should breastfeed more often than usual when the child has diarrhoea.