Breastfeeding And The Medical Profession, Part Two

By Tiffany Holley

Let me start by briefly reiterating what I explained in my previous post of medical escapades:

I appreciate my doctors. I appreciate the medical system that got me through a variety of health issues. They know a lot about what they were trained in…

…But they do not necessarily know anything about breastfeeding.

It makes me so sad to think of all the babies that lose out on this amazing food (and relationship!) because their mother took the inappropriate advice of an ignorant (on this subject) medical practitioner.

Let me tell you some more of what I went through to learn this lesson…

Sadly, the Emergency Room visit and hospital stay I talked about last time was not the end of my troubles.

Over the next few months I underwent two outpatient procedures to treat my (newly discovered) kidney stones. The machine uses sonic waves to break up the stones from outside the body, so there is no “surgery” involved.

The first time, the doctors fought me tooth and nail about my choice for anesthesia, or lack thereof. Since I am unable to pump (physiologically), their advice to pump and discard my milk for 24 hours after the procedure was simply not an option.

I talked to my La Leche League leader, and consulted my copy of Dr. Hale’s book, but all they could do was confirm that the medications in question were not recommended. Nobody was able to offer an alternative.

So I opted to have a spinal block, but no intravenous sedation.

Although I was warned that it would be painful, their primary concern seemed to be that the thumping noise of the machine was rather loud, and the experience might be traumatic. This seemed really strange, since obviously the medical personnel involved are all in the room with this noise – presumably several times a day!

Over the week between talking to the anesthesiologist and having the procedure, several people from the hospital called me, trying again to talk me into breastfeeding-incompatible sedation. It was exhausting!

In all those conversations, no alternatives were offered – and believe me, I asked everyone!

My choice was either to suffer and be traumatized, or give my baby formula for 24 hours, with the possible consequences to our nursing relationship. I would also risk engorgement and other consequences due to my inability to pump out the accumulated milk. And how would the medicine even get out in 24 hours, since I couldn’t pump enough to “flush it through”? Nobody had an answer.

As a concession to their concern about traumatic noise, I brought earplugs… And the staff in the treatment room all laughed that such a big issue had been made about it.

There were some challenges with the spinal that had me bleeding and in tears before the procedure even started, and it seemed clear would lead to a post-op “spinal headache” as well.

The noise was just annoying. I lay on the table and cried during the entire procedure, however, as the spinal immobilized my legs but “did not come up high enough” to numb the pain in my kidney area.

I managed to hold my torso still, but the doctor and technician still felt they could not work as aggressively as they would have if I was unconscious. There was already a plan for a second procedure, but this cast the unpleasant possibility of a third session being needed.

Later I learned that my husband had spent the whole time walking the halls with an inconsolable screaming baby. (The wild advice he got from passers-by, nurses and patients alike, is probably worthy of a post in itself!)

Having had only the spinal, I was able to nurse Mr. Big Baby in recovery, but it was quite a while before we were able to leave.

Needless to say, we were dreading a repeat. Medically, things made it necessary to go ahead, and we hoped that the two months in between would put the baby in a better place to cope with it.

We were much better cared for the second time, however. The anesthesiologist who happened to be there that day was actually the chief of pediatric anesthesiology for the hospital, and he was shocked when I told him what I wanted to do (and had done the previous time).

He explained that there were plenty of breastfeeding-compatible ways to sedate me! For starters, he would use the medications that they would give my child if he were the one going under anesthesia – that way if things did pass through to the milk, it would still be safe.

I was medicated, and the next thing I knew I was sitting in the recovery room with my husband and children coming around the corner.

It had gone much faster, and the baby was less upset. It had also been much more effective, as the doctor felt free to “pummel me” harder. I even got to go home sooner.

This procedure was the best of everything, for everyone. And, according to the anesthesiologist, the procedures he used were common knowledge.

So why did nobody offer those options to me the first time around? Even if they didn’t know what to do, why didn’t they ask someone when I pressed the issue?

I thought I had been diligent… I asked the doctors, nurses, and anesthesiologists for breastfeeding friendly options. I refused to take no for an answer. I stood up for my baby and our breastfeeding relationship.

But I still missed it.

I hope other moms can learn the “take away” lesson that I stumbled upon by chance. If I had it to do over again I would call an obstetric anesthesiologist and a pediatric anesthesiologist right off the bat!

If your health care provider says there is no safe option, it doesn’t mean there isn’t one – it only means they don’t know.

Have you had similar experiences with the healthcare profession not knowing about safe, breastfeeding-friendly alternatives? Please leave a comment on this post to share your experiences!

Tiffany Holley has nursed three children (currently 18 mos. – 15 years old) for a total of 8 years – and counting. She and her family live, breastfeed, urban homestead, cloth diaper, homeschool, and write in Southern Florida (but hope to remedy their location situation soon). You can read about their adventures on their blog, As For My House.