"It's very unfortunate that you're breastfeeding"

[deborah_r]

I'm not into flaming, but I have to disagree. I'm not sure how the doctor's statements can be taken any other way:

** "It's very unfortunate that you're breastfeeding. Bottle feeding is much better for lots of reasons. One of which is that it's easier to control how much they take in. Stop nursing so often and start thinking about switching to formula." **

We have to assume the OP is accurately relaying to us what he said. Sounds like he is trying to take the easy way out of the situation, instead of trying to figure out what could be wrong. And as Rachel pointed out, it may not be the easy way out at all, as formula can make the problem worse if it is reflux.

Even if he had any valid point in there (which I don't see, but let's assume he did) nobody in a position like his should be using such discouraging language around a new BFing mother. It's "unfortunate" that she's BFing????? How about, it's "fantastic", how about it's "wonderful"!!! BFing in the beginning is SUCH hard work and everyone who is working with the new mother needs to be supportive and praise the mother for the great job she is doing.

I too initially tried to look for some glimmer of hope in what he said, trying to figure out a way his words had been misunderstood, because I hate to think there are doctors out there like this, but I really can't see how he meant it any other way. I do agree with your other points that the OP might want to call and discuss it with him, and also that if she's just not comfortable with this doctor, she should try to find one that she is more comfortable with.

I hope this wasn't a flame, I do appreciate everyone's perspectives on this board!

Edited for grammar, confusing sentence structure.

[etwahl]

i'm not a doctor, but i don't understand why one needs to know "how much" their baby is eating? i mean every baby eats a different amount anyway, right? so why would the amount be a factor? why would that all of a sudden make it "all better"?

and from what i understand, if he is having an upset tummy for whatever reason, he probably would eat more to try and make himself feel better, no? and wouldn't that be the same for formula?

this isn't directed at you aggie (don't want you to misinterpret this as a flame!), actually your response made me think about the specifics of what this ped was suggesting...that the amount of food the baby is getting is the problem. if the baby WAS on formula, wouldn't you feed him until he was full? i mean you don't stop because you hit a certain amount, you feed him until he's full. so when i read your interpretation, it made me think about just what this doctor was proposing.

i mean it's not like she was forcing the boob on him and making him suck! from my experience you can't force a baby to eat anything they don't want. if they're hungry, they eat, if they're not, they don't. so i guess i still don't understand how formula would solve the problem if this is REALLY what he thinks is the problem?

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[mharling]

You raised an excellent point, Tammy, and I completely agree with you. Before I ever bf'ed, I thought, "No big deal, you offer the boob and they'll just eat." I learned quickly that that was a very simplistic view both from the point of bf'ing in general and specifically that you cannot force a child to eat if they do not want to. Same thing goes for solids.

Mary
Lane 4/6/03
Birthday Pics!! http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=...21b370a2992536

[etwahl]

don't most people use the reason that you don't know if they're getting enough milk? most don't use the reason that they're getting too much! but i guess it goes to show that if someone is against bfing, then they can always find a reason that what's happening with the baby is the fault of bfing.

i just don't understand why something our bodies are PHYSICALLY MEANT TO DO is criticized SO MUCH? if nursing is so problematic, then i'm surprised we as a species are still alive! or dogs, or cats, or any other animals, kwim?

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[Rachels]

RIGHT. BF is the norm and FF is something different, not the other way around. With FF babies, you need to keep track of ounces. With BF babies, you don't. And BF babies don't get too much milk-- if they're full, they suck differently so they're not continuing to drain the breast. It is never, ever an unfortunate thing for a mother to nurse her baby.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[LauraMarie]

I haven't had a chance to read all of the replies to your message as I am at lunch. However, just wanted to let you know.

My son started vomiting constantly at 2 1/2 weeks old. They first treated him for reflux. However, he wound up having surgery at 4 weeks old because the muscle between his stomach and small intestine was overgrown and would not let the food go down. The muscle is called the pyloric muscle. They wound up doing an ultrasound to figure that out.

This is common in first born males!

[sntm]

Yikes, yes I should have mentioned this.
Pyloric stenosis is most common in firstborn white males (and I think in very cute babies, at least that is my experience!)

It ususally manifests itself at around 6 weeks but can be anywhere between then and maybe 6 months. It usually comes on suddenly and most commonly involves projectile (like, hit the wall behind you projectile) vomiting that is non-bilious (not green) since it just contains stomach contents.

You (meaning the doc) can usually feel the stenosed pyloric sphincter as lump that feels like an olive in the upper midline of the abdomen. You can also ultrasound it as confirmation or in kids where it is difficult to feel. These kids usually get dehydrated pretty quickly so if it's been going on for more than a few days, it's unlikely that's what this is.
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shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

[LauraMarie]

It took the doctors 2 weeks to diagnose my son with Pyloric Stenosis. I was constantly on the phone with the doctors saying something else must be wrong, it cannot just be reflux. My son never got dehydrated.

[nigele]

Obviously your pediatrician was not breastfed as an infant - what a shame! :-)

Good luck finding a new ped - there are lots of great ones out there. Sorry yours was such a jerk! We had a similar experience and LOVE our second ped. He has seen me nurse more times than anybody except my DH and he supports nursing a toddler.

[heidi_timms]

This makes me laugh because hello-isn't breastfeeding the reason God gave us breasts?

As far as the amount of milk. We had a huge spitting up, projectile from age 3-8 months. We were used to large amounts of spit-ups.

I used to prop up/sit up DD for 15 minutes after eating to let things settle. This helped a little bit. Also, I did notice she was overeating (still sucking beyond full). If I pulled her off when I noticed she was done getting her "meal", we had WAY less spit-up then if I let her eat and eat. That may be what your ped was getting at. The breast is so comforting that sometimes babies like to suck and suck forever!

~Heidi
Mom to Kailey Ashlin
4/27/03