Medication and Feeding your Baby

I saw a new mom recently who needed to stop some of her medications while pregnant. Her medical condition required medications that were unsafe for her developing baby and are also not recommended while breastfeeding. However, she wanted to have the experience of breastfeeding her child and also knew that her condition was worsening. What a dilemma. This mom decided to nurse for 4 weeks, then wean and begin her treatments again.  We discussed how to gradually wean and begin introducing bottles of pumped milk mixed with formula. At 5 weeks, she was able emotionally to stop breastfeeding her baby and move to using formula.  It was important for her to take her time to grieve not being able to feed her baby the way she wanted to.
 
 
 
Over the years,  I’ve learned from my friend, Dr. Pec Indman, who co-wrote the book, Beyond the Blues, that we as health care providers need to recognize that people need time to process their situations and how they’ll move forward. For some women the decision is cut and dry, and  others need more time to grieve the loss of their dream of breastfeeding their baby.  What I’ve seen is when there isn’t adequate time to prepare and a situation arises that is unexpected, there is an entire range of feelings that wash over us, like anger, frustration, feeling out of control, and sadness. 
 
 
My patient needed time to prepare herself for a situation that she expected but had hoped would turn out differently.  Most of us need the same time and consideration.