This hospital has to be the most breastfeeding-unfriendly place in which I've ever set my feet. I went there a few years ago with a dental abcess. When the doctor said he'd give me an antibiotic and painkiller, I made a point of mentioning that I was nursing. He glared at me with the most disgusted look upon his face as he asked, "WHY?!" I was dumbfounded.
Last night, my daughter went there for a dental abcess (yes, she's been cursed with my teeth). The doctor came in, looked in her mouth and left the room. He never conversed with her to find that she had "emergency symptoms" such has pain extending into the neck, headache, and others. Much less did he bother to find out that she was breastfeeding. A nurse returned with prescriptions and she was sent home.
The painkiller which they gave was Ultram. Upon viewing the information sheet in the package, we found that it is not recommended for nursing mothers at all. I called the hospital and spoke with the charge nurse who placed me on hold and returned stating that the doctor said "very little of the medication is excreted into the breastmilk. It will not harm the baby." He said this several times to me.
So I did my own research. This is what I found:
After a single 100-mg IV dose, the cumulative amounts of the parent drug
and metabolite excreted into milk within 16 hours were 100 and 27 g,
respectively. The mean absolute bioavailability of a 100-mg oral dose is 75%. ,
ingestion of the recommended dose may produce drug amounts in breast milk that
could exceed those reported above. The effects of this exposure on a nursing
infant are unknown. (1)
Does that sound "very little" to you? Moreover, the manufacturer of the drug states that it is excreted in large amounts and should never be used by a breastfeeding mother even for labor and delivery pain.
In the end, my daughter called them again. The charge nurse was rude, uncaring and spoke over her, not listening to anything she said. He told her that if she didn't feel comfortable with the drug.. "take Motrin". Kindness, consideration and 'do no harm' definitely fell by the wayside here.
(1) http://drugsafetysite.com/tramadol/
The negligence of doctors these days is horrifying. How about homeopathy for that toothache? I've been able to stop the pain of many immediately with the right remedy.
ReplyDeleteI really don't have a homeopathic suggestion (although I'm certain that I should find one for the future!)
ReplyDeleteThere are, however, herbal suggestions and other natural help. Colloidal silver is the best antibiotic hands-down. For pain..that's a bit more difficult as the only pain-relieving herb I know of is willow bark and that's very "light" as a painkiller. In fact, aspirin is made from that.
Another help is to take a cotton ball with echinacea-goldenseal on it and place it on the abcessed tooth each night for 3 nights in a row. This cures it. Taking this internally also helps but is not recommended during pregnancy. I'm pretty certain it's not recommended for breastfeeding either but I'll double-check this.
That's cruel. You should report both of them to the board of the hospital. Unfortunately I can believe people can be that cruel. I've run into more than a few doctors that were cold and unforgiving. I'm going to have a hell of a time when I have a baby. I definitely want to breast feed and I'm going to be cursing at everyone and raising hell if something like that happens to me. I'm hypochondrial so I want everything to be exactly right and no problems. ESPECIALLY with my baby. haha. When it comes to babies, you should be more than extra careful. I can't believe someone who spends their whole life caring for people can say something like that and have that kind of attitude towards that kind of thing. I'm sorry you guys had to go through that.
ReplyDeleteThanks Amanda. Yes, great care and consideration should be given to our health and especially when it comes to our children. Unfortunately, many leave it in the hands of doctors. I refuse. My kids mean much more to me and I take their well-being to heart.
ReplyDeleteIt is up to us, the parents, to consider what is best for them. That means educating ourselves to medicine, herbs, hospital births and homebirths and determining for ourselves what is best.
Oh I defintely agree and I can definitely see how you raise your children. Being friends with one of them via internet, she's given me a small glimpse to your home and your lives and from that, and this blog, i'm trying to start making the transition to similar methods now because I see how much it helps and works with your children and I wish the same for mine. I definitely want to take alot of what you do into great consideration when I have my own child. It's hard to get my fiancee to understand, haha, but i'm sure i'll get him transitioned as well once I become pregnant. :) If he takes as much care of me when i'm pregnant as he does now, he'll realize how much better herbs,etc. can be than regular medicines. He's very anti-medicine but he's more of it will go away on its own. Which, I guess, is also a decent way of looking at it. :)
ReplyDeleteWow.. I didn't know you were giving that much attention to me LOL. No ..seriously. I really didn't know :-)
ReplyDeleteWell i'm seeing it through your daughter. She's doing really well and she's such a cool and great girl and her daughter is just as great (and adorable!!). :)
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