To be angry at this GP

[yevans]

Went to my usual surgery and saw a lovely GP. She was really great until she found out that I was pregnant (first trimester) and also breastfeeding my 1 year old at the same time. I then got a lecture about how it could be dangerous to breastfeed whilst pregnant and that I should think about stopping. I am really mad about this. I told her that it was only an issue if you have problems with pre term labour previously. She disagreed and seemed to refuse to believe me. I'm glad I knew that it was fine for me to carry on but others may not and if told that would be guilt tripped into stopping before they or baby are ready.

AIBU to be really angry that breastfeeding is pushed so heavily when your baby is little then as soon as they are over 1 it's frowned upon and not supported? Why is this??

[mumwon]

please feel some sympathy to gp's though
keeping up to date, reading & doing research - doing endless paperwork - no doubt lots of info on bureaucracy of NHS, financial paperwork for practice, keeping up to date on drugs (including what ones they are allowed to use & side effects etc) changes in diagnosis standards & assessments, mental health training for staff & probably employing both clerical & clinical staff... & some train other gp's
but the best gp or any expert who says "I don't know I will check" or "that's interesting I must read upon it"

[RubbishRobotFromTheDawnOfTime]

@AwaAnBileYerHeid

When I was pregnant with DC2 I told my midwife that I was still bfing my 2 year old and that was ok, wasn't it? She said she'd never come across it before so she didn't know and would have to look it up. Well, I could do that myself!

*@RubbishRobotFromTheDawnOfTime* what's wrong with someone not knowing the answer to something therefore checking that they have the correct info before giving you the answer? I bet you would have complained if she answered with "I don't know, look it up yourself".

I'm not complaining that she said it. I always look stuff up myself anyway. My point is that even midwives don't know everything, especially when it's something that's unusual in our society like breastfeeding past 6 months or when pregnant with the next one.

[HeyDuggeesCakeBadge]

This really anoys me, so much ignorance from GPS about breastfeeding. I fed my 9 month old throughout my 2nd pregnancy and then tandem fed. Was I tired? Yep. Was i deficient in nutrients? Nope. Both babies were healthy and beautiful and I tandem fed for nearly a year.

[Catchingbabies]

Midwife here and I’m absolutely fed up of the awful breastfeeding advice given by GP’s, they really should receive more training in this area.

[Onceuponatimethen]

In fact extended bf lends itself to a longer spacing between babies for many dms anyway. Again covered in Hilary Flower iirc.

3.5 years between mine as cycle only returned when dd1 was 2, so not sure what relevance this 18 month thing would have to my dc

[Onceuponatimethen]

@Catchingbabies it must be very depressing!! Thanks for providing good advice on your side though

[yevans]

@Volcanicorange well happily for this baby there will be more than 18 months between them so no need to worry eh? Thanks for telling me all the reasons I shouldn't have conceived though and not actually telling me any evidence for your first claim of an IQ deficit.

[MitziK]

What's to say that she didn't have a serious issue with a second pregnancy whilst still BF her first, rather than saying it out of malice or stupidity?

[yevans]

@MitziK that may be the case, but even so GP's should be giving out advice based on evidence not personal experience. A GP could have had a horrendous vaginal birth but it wouldn't be right for them to advise people against them would it?

[Al1Langdownthecleghole]

I think at this point it’s all about you. Congratulations on your new pregnancy btw. If you feel well enough, and are able to eat a varied diet crack on, it’s obviously working for you.

My slight note of caution is that while breastfeeding support groups are wonderful at supporting the feeding part, they aren’t always the best at seeing the bigger picture. Keep in mind that both breastfeeding and pregnancy take their toll on your body and be prepared to review things if the impact becomes too much and you’ll be fine.

[MitziK]

[quote yevans]@MitziK that may be the case, but even so GP's should be giving out advice based on evidence not personal experience. A GP could have had a horrendous vaginal birth but it wouldn't be right for them to advise people against them would it?[/quote]
I wouldn't give out advice if I believed wholeheartedly that advice could cause somebody to go through something absolutely awful.

[yevans]

@Al1Langdownthecleghole thank you! Yes, I'm very happy to stop if it ever becomes too much for either of us!

[MotherOfDragonite]

Just as much misinformation on this thread as from your GP! Goes to show how widespread this shit is, and how easily spread -- also, how much weight is given to what GPs say ("well, she's the medical expert and you're just a mum reading the internet")

Unfortunately GPs have little medical knowledge about breastfeeding. Yes, it's awful and could easily put off women who are less informed.

I would put in a formal complaint and I am not joking -- for the reasons above.

[SafferUpNorth]

I'd say do what works for you and your toddler. Clearly what your GP said goes against the official NHS advice on their website - as others have mentioned GPs aren't necessarily clued up on the details of breastfeeding, so she was wrong to express such a strong, clearly incorrect opinion. She could have admitted that she's not an expert and offered to look into it for you.

If I was you I'd give feedback to your surgery on this.

As for the fearmongering 'literature review' from @Volcanicorange above about how damaging is to have a gap of less than 18 months .. .. even if you did choose to believe it, it's too late for that now eh! Not at all a helpful reply.

I know several mums who had their kids so close, including my own SIL. Kids are all well-adjusted, clever, healthy with amazing sibling bonds, and their mums are no worse for wear, Yes the first few months are hard but you sound like you're made of tough stuff xxx

[jessstan2]

@OverTheRainbow88

Isn’t it about most your nutrition should go to the fetus growing rather than 1 year old?

That's what I thought.

Maybe your GP was tactless in how she phrased her comments, yevans, but they were made out of concern.

Try to wean your baby off the breast, she is well old enough to be eating dinners and having milk from a cup or glass. A little bit of breast at bedtime should be enough. It has to happen sooner or later and at a year old, that is more than normal. The baby you are carrying needs plenty of nutrition from you, you are their only source!

[Onceuponatimethen]

@jessstan2 you know nowt about bf while pg - it’s perfectly fine!!

[BiBabbles]

It's frustrating when a HCP is adamant about something and are really wrong, but the NHS website is huge, even more if we include NICE and similar organizations, so it's not surprising they get things wrong - or at least wrong for that person. People are more likely to remember that it can be risky for some - those with a history of pre-term labour or significant nutritional deficiencies - and then just cautiously apply that to everyone.

Also NHS Guidelines on gaps in pregnancy is 12-18 months between a child's birth and the conception of the next. The WHO recommendations are 18-24 months. Everyone has to balance their own risks and benefits though and, much like breastfeeding, the research on this has significant limitations and isn't very well known.

[Happygogoat]

Yanbu. The GP is as wrong as half the posters above who clearly can't read/know nothing about breastfeeding!

You know your body and your energy levels and you will know how your pregnancy is fairing. Absolute bollocks about not having enough nutrition to do both. Good luck with it all x

[yevans]

@jessstan2 I take it you haven't read the thread...

I am in no hurry to stop breastfeeding thanks, there is no evidence that me doing so will harm either baby so I will be continuing as often as we both want to. She eats 3 full meals, snacks and drinks cows milk as well just to put your mind at ease.

[Onceuponatimethen]

@MotherOfDragonite I couldn’t agree more

[NeonNerds]

I did quite a lot of research on this as am pregnant now, nearly due, and at the time had a breastfeeding two year old. She had a varied diet and plenty to eat and drink besides but did breastfeed regularly as well and I imagine took a fair few calories.

I'm quite interested in nutrition so think nutrient wise I hopefully would have been ok with a balanced diet and also having taken a prenatal in the six months before conceiving.

There isn't a lot of research on this but certainly there's no evidence to say it's harmful. Your body is using nutrients for the breast milk as well as the growing baby but thankfully we are very lucky here that food and nutrients are plentifully available to many of us and we are well nourished in general.

I did wonder about the impact of hormones etc but everything in my pregnancy at least has worked out so far, touch wood. My daughter gradually self weaned when the milk dried up, but was taking a lot in the first four months or so.

Unfortunately I really struggled mentally near the beginning with lockdown etc so if there are any problems with the baby's development I'd sadly wonder about my stress levels though I did my best to manage them. I did find it calming for toddler and I to feed so maybe it helped

It's true that the NHS are supportive of it except in particular cases, which seems mostly precautionary, and my midwife said there was no reason not to

[MotherOfDragonite]

Doesn't matter if it's "made out of concern" if it's totally incorrect!

Also, babies and indeed toddlers can still be breastfed while also eating dinners and drinking water from cups. It's perfectly normal to breastfeed beyond a year. Also, a healthy mother breastfeeding an older child doesn't take away nutrition from the fetus or damage the pregnancy. HTH.

[user456789]

I was still bf my DD when I got pregnant again. A friend actually told me to wean for the same reasons as what your GP said. I spoke to my GP about it who was lovely and told me it was absolutely fine to carry on feeding DD and that she had bf her first when expecting her second.
My DD naturally weaned herself when I was about 20 weeks which was perfect for me as I didn't fancy bf two

[MotherOfDragonite]

Jesus wept, what a lot of sh*te people spout about breastfeeding.

[Volcanicorange]

It's not fearmongering. The WHO recomends leaving 18-24 months between pregnancies (not births)

www.nhs.uk/news/pregnancy-and-child/women-should-leave-least-year-between-pregnancies/

'For women overall, pregnancy intervals of 9 to 12 months or less were associated with a small increased risk of the following complications, compared with a pregnancy interval of at least 18 months:

small baby
premature birth
severe foetal or newborn complications (a combined outcome looking at extremely low birthweight or prematurity, stillbirth or infant death)
severe maternal illness or death'

Why don't more people know this?!