Rant alert: Out of hours GP extremely surprised and disapproving that I was still BFing DD

[LittleWaveyLines]

... who is not quite 7 months old!

We took her because if a sickness bug and I was worried she was getting dehydrated (apparently not significantly, so all was good), but he then said if I was bottle feeding it would be easier because he could give a formula with an easier to digest protein, and that human milk protein is hard to digest so... it could take her twice as long to get better!

He then told me to restrict to small frequent feeds (which she was naturally doing anyway, bless her)

Why can't GPs have some training about bfing is they are going to advise on it?

Crackers isn't it?! I also took my DS to GP Walk-in today for d&v bug fully prepared for a bit of a spat about not needing to offer the old 'cooled, boiled water' trick, and had my cynical self proved wrong by a lovely Dr, who did express surprise that I was STILL bf-ing (DS is 18 weeks FFS), but then went in to say, "well you're doing everything you need to do just by bf-ing". Very lovely, and serves me right for expecting the worst!

:) Glad some people get good GPs!

Hope your DS is better x

• it turned out to be a 24hour thing for my DD although she only had the V not the D...

When ds was 4 months old, I had a similar experience. As I was sick too, doctor advised immediate weaning and feeding ds flat 7up in a bottle. I said I'd rather not and he said "well, if you must be a martyr to it, I can't tell you to stop, I can only advise you to consider what's best for you and your child"

True story

Oh dear, that's not good advice at all :( How would you feel about making a complaint?

Hope your DD feels better soon.

I had a good gp when dd was 4 months and very ill. He suggested I water down her bottles as formula would be hard to digest while she was ill and might make her sick. I told him she was breastfed and he immediately said to ignore everything he'd just said as my milk would be catering to her perfectly and would adjust to exactly what she needed

I would be making a formal complaint if a GP told me human milk was harder to digest. You might know better but imagine if he told someone that who actually believed him :(

My GP (who is normally lovely) was surprised that I was breastfeeding at my 7 week postnatal check. Not sure what he would say now that I am still feeding at almost 18mo!

I'm not up to complaining really.... just flabbergasted!

When DD2 was just under 3, she had a seriously nasty virus (it kicked off a bout of arthritis which lasted for the best part of a year). She was drifting in and out of consciousness and the Paeds. A&E nurse said she was very dehydrated and children as dehydrated as her have low blood sugars. She went off to get the blood sugar meter and to prep some oral rehydration solution for DD2 to drink which took a while!

I did something I have never done before and made DD2 latch on, she had both sides like a newborn (big proper feeds not just checking in slurps!).

By the time the nurse came back and did the blood sugars they were 5 thingies and DD2 had perked up enough to have a cup of cows' milk (she wouldn't touch the ORS with a barge pole!).

Very glad I was 'still' bfing that day (esp. as DD3 had an asthma attack and had been on a neb in the A&E too and needed bfing to calm down from it)

I was told by a paediatrician, none the less, that I didn't need to feed any more when ds was four mo. Ten months later we are still doing it!

Flat 7up working?!?!

That sounds like a hell of a day Truth - hope all DC are okay now!

While Complaining seems like quite a big deal, a letter explaining that you were shocked to be given wrong information, and offended by the GPs misunderstanding of breast feeding would be really useful for the education of that Dr and others...

I do hope it's an 'old dinosaur' thing, but i get grumpy that these people give the rest of us a bad name!

I'm glad your DD is better!

It was a hell of a day - thankfully DD2 is in remission from the arthritis though she is still in a minor amount of pain (the stiffness and lack of movement from the arthritis lead to Hypermobility Syndrome as we have floppy joints on my side of the family and weak muscles = extra floppy joints and pain) but she is miles better now

There was a baby in Haiti who died from being fed 7Up (or Sprite but they are essentially the same, right?). I bet that wasn't put in writing by the GP though....

Yep, I had a consultant lecture me on BFing when DS was 10 months old after I requested suitable BFing facilities in hospital and also adequate suitable pain relief when I broke my leg. Said consultant was slightly taken aback when I told him his prehistoric attitude was completely contrary to current NHS policy and it was him to needed to think twice about his advice rather than me needing to thing twice about whether BFing was necessary.

Never EVER piss off a woman with a baby and a broken leg, is all I've got to say!

Very annoying! When my DD was 9 months she had a D&V bug - GP's advice? Not to breastfeed while she was still being sick - of course I came on here to double check and my suspicions were correct - he was wrong! Anyway what annoyed me the most was that my GP said "you wont have to worry about your supply - it wouldnt be the end of the world if you had to stop breastfeeding at 9 months. Youve done well to get this far"...yeah ok, so he was being nice, but so misguided at the same time!

I find it incredible that GP's are so ill informed about breastfeeding - its how the human race has survived!!!!

I had bad insomnia when my DD was 12 weeks old. My GP tried to prescribe me very strong sleeping tablets and when I expressed concern about the effect on my milk, he replied "you do realise that no-one breastfeeds anymore"!

Wow! Some peoples experiences are just incredible!