Doctors are very smart people. You can show up at their office on any given day, present certain symptoms, and immediately get feedback. At least that’s how it is most of the time.
In my experience, though, informing a doctor that you are breastfeeding can cause even the best physician to get uncomfortable.
Take my visit to the doctor last week as an example:
I was in agony… a nasty kidney infection was dragging down. I was very quickly and confidently prescribed antibiotics, but when I mentioned that I was breastfeeding, my doctor was stumped. Where did this highly trained individual turn to find out if the meds she was prescribing were okay for a nursing mom? Google.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love Google as much as the next person. But, when I seek expert advice, the last thing I want is that advice to come from a simple Internet search. I could do that myself! The worst part of all of this? This is the second time I’ve had a doctor of mine turn to Google for medical advice when confronted with the “Is this okay for me to take while breastfeeding?” question.
And it’s not just the lack of knowledge about meds and breastfeeding that bothers me, it’s the ignorant attitude towards nursing that I’ve seen doctors display. The doctor I saw last week, for instance, suggested casually that if the antibiotic was not compatible with breastfeeding then I could just “pump and dump for a few days.”
“Oh sure,” I felt like saying, “my daughter will understand if can’t nurse her for a week… it’ll be fine.” Do doctors not understand the breastfeeding on demand relationship? My daughter nurses a billion times a day, it would cause total chaos in our lives if I were to just stop nursing so abruptly.
On another occasion, when I was being prescribed meds that might potentially interfere with my milk supply, I had a doctor carelessly say, “Well I only got to nurse my baby for six weeks, you’ve done it for much longer. So you shouldn’t complain if you have to wean now.”
“Nice,” I felt like responding to this doctor, “would you say that to a patient about any other health care matter… It didn’t work for me, so you shouldn’t worry if it doesn’t work for you”. It’s ridiculous. If the health care system wants women to take breastfeeding seriously, then it has set a better example by taking breastfeeding seriously itself.
I’ve learned to take matters into my own hands when it comes to doctors and breastfeeding.
For instance, when I got home after my doctor’s appointment the other day, I immediately plugged my prescribed drug into the LactMed app on my smartphone. If you haven’t heard of it yet, it’s this great little app that will summarize all of the research done on any particular drug and its application to breastfeeding. It will give you an idea of the safety of the drug for your baby and the effect of the drug on your milk supply. You won’t find it for free in the Android market, but you can get directions for downloading it for free here. iPhone users can download it from iTunes (free) as well.
Also, Dr. Hale has a forum and a book that every family doctor should have. He’s developed a rating system for the safety of drugs in breastmilk.
And last, but not least, Jack Newman is a good one to turn to. I have a friend who actually emailed him about her medical issue. You know what? He emailed her back with his expert opinion and she was able to present his opinion to her doctor (who wanted her to wean) and continue breastfeeding as a result.
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Felicie is a teacher turned work at home mama to two busy little angels, aged 22 months and 4 and a half years. She is a proud member of La Leche League Canada and has helped to organize three World B[..]
I had to have day surgery when DD was 6 months. I met with the Anesthesiologist the day before and she didn’t know what to tell me. I ended up doing the research myself and on her 6 month birthday, the bottle was introduced and the weaning to bottle process started. I was going back to work at 8 months, so this was necessary anyhow.
I was very disappointed with the lack of knowledge on behalf of the Doctor who delivers drugs for a living. It caused some anxiety in our house.
Sorry to hear this, Sarah, but thank you for sharing. Sounds like you ran into the same issue as me- a doctor who didn’t know or care enough about breastfeeding to effectively help you. It’s pretty sad when those of us without medical degrees have to do the research ourselves.