Is It Permissible to Feed an Infant Breastmilk Containing Blood?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

What is the Shafiʿi position on feeding an infant expressed breastmilk found to have blood in it?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

If you see blood in the expressed milk, do not feed it to the infant as long as there is a safe alternative. If there is no safe option and the child needs to be fed, it is allowed and there is no sin in doing so.

Understanding the Ruling

This ruling is based on three established points in the Shafi’i school.

Human milk is pure. It is listed among the pure substances, and there is no question of impurity in the milk as such. [Misri, Umdat al-Salik]

Blood is filth (najasa). The school does excuse a small amount of a person’s own blood, but that excusal is given for prayer and its likes, not for liquids: blood that is excused in prayer still makes a liquid impure. Milk is a liquid.

The same conclusion follows from the conditions of the excusal itself, among them that the blood has not mixed with something else, even something pure. Blood expressed into milk has, by definition, mixed. The exemption, therefore, lapses. [Bajuri, Hashiya; Bujayrimi, Tuhfat al-Habib]

When a pure substance has become contaminated, it is then considered impure (mutanajjis), and it is forbidden to eat something that is impure.

In this case, the exception is based on necessity (darura): if a child has to be fed and there are no other pure options, then only the amount necessary for the purpose is allowed.

A similar exception is made in cases of genuine medical need, in which there is no pure alternative and the need is established by a reliable physician or by one’s own experience. [Ibn Hajar, Tuhfat al-Muhtaj; Shirbini, Mughni al-Muhtaj]

Allah (Most High) says, “He has only forbidden you ˹to eat˺ carrion, blood, swine, and what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah.

But if someone is compelled by necessity—neither driven by desire nor exceeding immediate need—they will not be sinful. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Quran 2:173]

The verse includes both parts of the ruling: the ban and the alleviation brought about by need. That is exactly the structure applied here.

Practical Guidance

In most cases, this situation is easy to avoid, so the exception is rarely needed.

Feed the baby from the unaffected breast. Express milk from the side with the blood and discard it to help maintain your supply until it heals.

Treat the cause, as cracked or damaged nipples usually get better with a better latch and proper care. Seeing a lactation consultant can help.

Blood that shows up in the first days of breastfeeding usually goes away on its own within about a week. If blood appears later or does not clear up, a doctor should check it.

If this situation comes up, it is worth asking a scholar directly.

Milk that does not have blood visible to the normal eye is not the same as milk that is clearly bloody, because the school excuses filth that cannot be seen by the average person. If you can see blood, follow the guidance above.

Principle and Practical Guidance

Generally, something pure becomes impure if filth mixes with it, and is unlawful to ingest.

But if there is a real need, the rule is relaxed only as much as needed. For you, this means throw away the milk with blood while the bleeding continues, feed from the other side, treat the cause, and only use the affected milk if your child truly has no other choice.

Medically, small amounts of blood in breastmilk are not harmful to a baby. This does not change the religious ruling, but it may help ease your worries if your baby has already been fed.

And Allah (Most High) knows best.