Please help - have to stop feeding my 2 year old

[HunchNumberTwo]

Just back from doctor and I need to take a course of antibiotics. The antibiotic is one which means I have to stop breastfeeding during the treatment (at least 8 days).

Please could you help me work out the least devastating way of helping my 2 year old boob-monster through this? He feeds on demand, feeds to sleep, and feeds during the night (usually co-sleeping).

Is it better to:

1. Check into a hotel for the 8 days, leaving him with DH and two members of family who are staying with us? They'd be able to help out during the nights... my poor boy would miss me terribly though, and DH just told me he read that this can traumatise children as they think the absent parent has died

1. Stay and refuse to feed. This would break his heart so much

1. ??? Open to all advice

There is no alternative antibiotic for me, as I am allergic to penicillin.

Really any advice and experiences are welcome, and thank you so much in advance.

1. Not having you there at all would be much worse than having you there but not feeding him.

Are you planning to go back to feeding him after you've finished the antibiotics? If so then I'd just say something like 'mummy's milk isn't working at the moment, she has medicine to make it better and it will be back in a few days'. Your ds probably will make a bit of a fuss but I'm sure it will not break his heart.

But you might also want to try 3. double-checking with a breastfeeding website whether the antibiotic you've been prescribed is truly incompatible with breastfeeding. Sometimes GPs can be misinformed about breastfeeding issues.

Have you doubled-checked with a breastfeeding specialist to see if you definitely can't BF whilst on the ABs? A lot of GPs will err on the side of caution. Ask someone who's got the latest edition of the Dr Hale book, that lists all the medication you can and can't take whilst BF, it might be that you don't need to stop.

Hunch I'd check with one of the Bfing helplines to see if you can take it. If you really can't then phone the GP's surgery and ask for a different antibiotic.

I'm allergic to penicillin too and have never had to stop bfing because of it.

Thanks for the replies

I haven't checked breastfeeding specific resources yet but GP checked a reference book for the amount of antibiotic that is secreted in breastmilk and it is higher than the maximum safe dose for a child his age

I wasn't planning on resuming feeding though as I need to have an impacted wisdom tooth extracted at the end of the month and wouldn't be able to feed him again if on anti-inflammatories. I think it might be confusing to keep stopping and starting.

I'd still check with the bf helplines as the GP may well hve just checked the BNF. I'm pretty sure there is a website you can check on too but I dont have the link I'm afraid, there will be a link on one of the previous threads on this though.

is the BNF not accurate? I thought it was updated regularly?

If stopping is what you want to do then that's fine. I would still give one of the helplines a call though. They could give you more information on the drugs than your GP and they will also have information on how to stop feeding your DS.

HTH

I think there is something more specific to bf than the BNF which I think just says a blanket no to lots of drugs IYSWIM. (lots of 'I thinks' as I'm not totally sure, hopefully someone with a bit more knowledge will be along soon).

I think the idea about telling him "mummy's milk isn't working is a good idea". I was very ill when one of mine was around that age and I wanted to stop. My DP just kept my DD out of my way at popular feeding times for a day or so and amazingly she seemed to totally forget all about it!

The BNF said I would have to cease bfing for 24 hours after sedation (Medazolam & Fentanyl) - I insisted the Drs checked Hale's Medications and Mother's Milk as well.

Guess what?

It was 4 hours of no bfing.....not 24....

Ask the BfN's pharmacist here or try the Lactmed database.

I would definitely go with option 2.

After trying to cut down for months with DD, I just stopped at 15 months. It took one day of crying, one day of grabbing, and one day of being a bit grumpy. After that she was fine, and so much more lovely and cuddly. I'm really glad we stopped now.

Thank you so much everyone for your replies, great advice given by all.

I phoned a lovely La Leche League volunteer who looked in Hale's Medications and Mother's Milk and found that what I have been prescribed is classed as lowest risk. It is Clarithromycin if anyone's interested.

I then phoned my GP and he said that the worst side-effect would be the risk of my son's teeth turning yellow. So really a bit of an overreaction to say I definitely shouldn't feed.

But I have started to feel much worse in the last few hours, and I think I need to take a break from feeding on demand and get my health back while I'm being treated. If he is still interested in a few days, or if I give in to the pressure in the meantime, then fair enough.

I've decided not to go anywhere while I'm on the ABs. Instead, I've been talking about how mummy's milk is not well and needs medicine (thanks alarkaspree), so hopefully he is taking it in and understands.

Thanks again, off for a last snuggle.

glad you got a sensible answer, well done for pursuing it. sorry you aren't feeling well and i hope it improves soon when the ABs kick in.

As an aside, anti-inflammatories are usually compatible with bf - ibuprofen and diclofenac for example are fine.

Hunch glad you made the call. I've had Clarithromycin a few times whilst bfing and both DC have been fine.

If you want to stop bfing then you may find the "don't offer, don't refuse" way might help, but again you could talk through wanting to stop and how to do it with a Bfing Counsellor.

Hope you feel better soon