Three of my dh's siblings are GP's. I am a lowly Allied Health Professional who happens to be studying for a practitioner doctorate in my field.
Okay, so I don't know as much as them about many, many things. I can't tell you the signs of cancer and I've never heard of some of the things they need to spot on a daily basis..
BUT
I do know some things. Even some things unrelated to my chosen field because studying for a doctorate in any health care profession does - shock! horror! - enable you to read and understand research and there are some areas where I have read a lot of research as they were relevant to my own life. Breastfeeding is one of these areas.
This weekend, GP sibling 1 is visiting. She is pregnant. She mentioned she wanted to breastfeed, asked me for my experiences..
so I told her that I wished I hadn't given formula when he was 10 days old as it negatively impacted upon my supply: that if I had to go back, I would have fed more frequently and expressed and refed after feeds as the formula played havoc with my supply.
GP lady: "That's just not true. A lot of babies need formula in hospital, it makes no difference to breastfeeding".
Me: "Perhaps some do but my understanding of it now, having done a lot of reading because I was so obsessed with it, is that the research says that introducing formula in the early days can impact on breastfeeding management" (obviously this is paraphrasing!)
Her: "With all due respect, you must have read it wrong. That's not true. Introducing formula makes no difference whatsoever to breastfeeding".
She was adamant that introducing formula was necessary for "most" babies under 7lbs and that it would not make any difference to the breastfeeding relationship. I really didn't want to create a massive argument so I made some comments and moved it on, but everything I said was met with a 'oh I don't think you've read that research right' combined with - get this! - rolling eyes! I was just incensed that she would roll her eyes at me and tell me I couldn't read research or guidelines properly. Yes, I get it, she has had years of training to be a doctor and fair dues to her. However, my training is specifically (if you think about what a doctorate is) in reading and evaluating research and I happen to have read pretty much everything I could get my hands on about early breastfeeding management and categorically know that supplementation negatively effects supply.
The real issue here, of course, is that my GP inlaws are viewed as Gods in the wider family.. and so this 'advice' on feeding (and other helpful nibbets like how I should be putting baby rice in my 17 week olds bottle to help him sleep) is viewed as sacred, whereas on the other hand, despite the fact I generally keep my profession out of all family discussions if I can at all help it, on the rare occasions I have given advice to family members on request have it torn to bits!!!
I wasn't even intending to 'advise' here but it was still ripped to shreds, I should have just kept it to my own experience but I couldn't help myself. Then she asked about my labour and everything I said, she said 'well that's quite common you know', like WTF? She was REALLY critical of me taking gas and air for a particularly lengthy excruciating vaginal exam at the outset (took three women to find my very posterior cervix through contractions). "What? You didn't even manage that without pain relief??". It's not a fucking competition love!
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.