How to Avoid and Treat Thrush when Bottle Feeding

The presence of thrush in a baby’s mouth can be painful for the baby and very upsetting for parents. Babies who are bottle-fed are more likely to develop thrush than those who are exclusively breastfeed. However, steps can be taken to lessen the risk of thrush developing, and treatment is quite easy. Thrush, or oral pseudomembranous candidiasis, is a superficial yeast infection that is found in about 5% of healthy newborns. Babies usually acquire the yeast from their mothers during passage through the birth canal. You can tell whether or not your child has thrush by looking out for the telltale white patches that can be found of the inside of the cheeks, lips, palate and tongue. Many mothers who bottle-feed their baby often mistake milk residue found on the tongue for thrush. If the tongue is uniformly white, this isn’t thrush. The patches of thrush are often described as curd-like. Unlike milk residue, they adhere to the underlying tissue. You can also, test for thrush, by gently touching a patch with a gauze-covered finger. If it is thrush, it probably won’t come off very easily, but if it does, you’ll find a raw, red area underneath that may bleed. [...]