Comments on: The misogyny of denying milk-making moms mental-health medication

By: I Never Went Back: On Psychiatric Ignorance of Breastfeeding | Breastfeeding Moms Unite

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:47:37 +0000

[...] I eventually got stable — mostly through my own hard work — and found someone to oversee my weaning off the medications. In the end, I was able to go through pregnancy and breastfeeding without any of the drugs the doctor who had betrayed me said he would deny me. But if I had needed pharmaceutical assistance — or, to be more honest, if I had admitted I needed more help than I had — I had no one to turn to. I would have had to start anew, and overcome the aversion I learned on that day years before, try to learn to trust again while struggling with postpartum neurology and new life with a neonate. And all because of an off-hand assertion by a psychiatrist ignorant of normal physiology and human development, of the risks of formula and the damage of denying a woman’s right to breastfeed. [...]

By: Dr Sarah

Dr Sarah — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:38:21 +0000

Bev: I agree that pharmacists can be a great resource for medication advice in general, but I’m really surprised by something else you said – that doctors only have one or two classes in drugs in their time at medical school. If you’re getting follow-ups from this, could you give me your source for that? I had regular lectures in pharmacology over the course of a year, covering all kinds of subjects, and, while I know obviously I only went to one medical school and they’ll all have different timetables, I would be absolutely astonished if *any* medical schools (let alone the majority) gave so little teaching on such a crucial subject. It would be like a medical school that didn’t teach anatomy or physiology. Of course, maybe I’m wrong – fire ahead and astonish me.

By: I never went back: on psychiatric ignorance of breastfeeding « Raising My Boychick

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:12:52 +0000

[...] The misogyny of denying milk-making moms mental-health medication [...]

By: Cathy Y.

Cathy Y. — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:03:52 +0000

I’m happy to say that I’ve had nothing but a good experience with both my psychiatrist and my pediatrician when it comes to medication while nursing. I am 45 years old with an 8 month old (my 4th child). I guess I’m one of the lucky few.

By: Sarah Cassill

Sarah Cassill — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:21:46 +0000

I am SO glad I found a family practice doc who had breastfed her own baby to take care of me and Isaac, and that my depression is fairly simple to treat!

What burns me the most is doctors and pharmacists who practice CYA medicine instead of just looking it up! Granted not many of them have Hale’s book, but it’s a RARE health care professional who doesn’t have internet access (heck, most of them have an Iphone or other gizmo in their pocket!) and the NIH’s lact med database is availabkle FREE and ONLINE, and the National Institutes of Health ought to be a respected enough source for even the most conservative of doctor’s! (If you want to look up your meds yourself, I find that I have better luck with the generic/chemical name than the drug name, bupropion for wellbutrin, acetaminophin for tylenol, etc) the link is http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/

By: Blue

Blue — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:55:37 +0000

Equally egregious is doctors deciding a breastfeeding mother needs medication, but instead of bothering to look up what’s safe, they prescribe something that can’t be taken while breastfeeding and then don’t bother telling her until after she’s bought them. Or leaving it to the pharmacist and the product insert to let her know.

By: Melodie

Melodie — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 04:10:55 +0000

Oh my freaking God! You have NO IDEA how timely this post is for me. I have been racking my bloody brain trying to figure out what to write my entrance essay on for my application for Masters in Psychiatric Social Work and HERE IT IS! I thought I was going to have to focus on Addictions and work with herion addicts shooting smack into new veins in their swollen bellies. I’m way too sensitive for that. I’d go home and cry every night But THIS! This I can DO! My background is in mental health and breastfeeding education. I’m passionate about both but haven’t been able to think of a way to marry the two. I KNEW I was having a mental block! I couldn’t get past the fact that working with pregnant/breastfeeding women with schizophrenia was too small a niche to get hired anywhere, but DUH! There are a lot of other mental illnesses. I can use my no fear of standing up to/working respectfully with psychiatrists to ensure that breastfeeding moms get proper treatment by informed health care workers. I can keep tabs on ALL mental health clients so I know who’s pregnant or a new mom and Bob’s my uncle! Jeepers! THANK YOU for unblocking my I’m-a-mother-so -I-can’t-think-straight-sometimes brain.

By: Arwyn

Arwyn — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:57:14 +0000

Sybil, I so, so hope you can find a sane team of health professionals to help you. There is simply no excuse for being given the choice between breastfeeding and being medicated. There are mood stabilizers, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds, and even (I believe) anti-psychotics that are compatible with breastfeeding -- of course we can't know whether they'll work for you ahead of time, but there is so much out there worth trying. Get your hands on a copy of Hale's (try La Leche League, or your local breastfeeding support group, lactation consultants, lactation clinics, etc), or try contacting Dr Jack Newman (I hear he's wonderful at replying to his emails with very helpful information); whatever it takes to get the information you need to work with your providers. Don't take no for an answer. If there is anything more I can do to help, please don't hesitate to let me know.

By: JohannaMM

JohannaMM — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 20:19:47 +0000

Partly I blame the CYA culture in medicine, especially where infants are concerned. Doctors get worried that if something goes wrong, they’ll be sued for a lifetime of care for a damaged child. It certainly requires a *relationship* with a trusted professional, whether that is a family doctor, a midwife, a psychiatrist, a pharmacist, a nurse-practitioner, or other. Someone who knows and gets your desires and beliefs and needs, and is willing to work with you. Such a relationship takes time to build, something that is not well compensated in our current medical culture, and which time may not be available in a crisis.

By: Susannah

Susannah — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 06:56:05 +0000

Yes, yes, yes! I <3 you, Arwyn!