Anybody else's baby on strong antibiotics at birth? Are they windier than you'd think normal

[duchesse]

Baby Bug was born complete with an unidentifiable infection due to prolonged rupture of membranes (it says 96 hours on her notes!). She was treated with a standard protocol of "pen ben and gen" which I think is penicylin and gentomycin, for the first five days of her life. The paediatricians assured us that there would be no ill-effects, but she just seems very burpy and windy quite a lot of the time, and I was wondering if there could be a link between the two. Has anybody else experienced this?

[nightcat]

A/bs will wipe out any good gut bacteria and might allow bad ones to take over. Stick to b/f if you can for as long as you can and try to avoid any more a/bs unless absolutely necessary. Too young probably for probiotics now, maybe when older - unless you find some suitable for babies.
My ds (many years ago) was pumped full of a/bs, had massive diarrhea for weeks which drs said was normal with a/bs(!!). It then took many years to unravel the gut damage.. Since then I have learned that drs only give you one side of the story..

[duchesse]

She is fully breastfed, cat, and that's why I'm surprised that she's so sicky and windy. Unfortunately she may not have survived without the antibiotics. I have been giving her biogaia probiotics which are suitable from newborn (she's now three months old), and they seem to be successful while she's taking them, but she goes straight back to green, windy poo as soon as she stops taking them and is in a fair amount of discomfort.

[nightcat]

I think you might need to carry on with probiotics for a long while to correct the problem - at least she is responding to them. Have a read [http://www.gaps.me/preview/?page_id=20 here], which I think describes the problem quite well. The author has also written the book on what potentially happens if not treated and how to treat, we follow most of her advice with my ds.
I lent the book to someone, but remember reading that to repair the problems post a/bs the probiotics need to be given long term, first at high doses(therapeutic), then lower (maintenance), in total for years (although this to undo more serious problems too).
You are on the right track, potentially saving yourself a lot of anguish in later years. Some probiotics contain more strains than others, maybe in time you can change for a broader spectrum. If you get a chance, have a read of her book (Gut and Psychology Syndrome), which covers this in depth, though the article covers it in a nutshell.
GAPS diet is about using minimal carbs and avoiding some altogether, if you can face it, you could tweak your diet, in case there is an impact in your milk. Either way, I think you are doing really well with probiotics as your dd responds and the immune system depends on healthy gut.

[nightcat]

oops, link