This makes me sad

[lyndie]

www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/latest-news/breast-feeding-mum-told-newborn-can-t-stay-in-hospital-ward-with-her-1-2624811

For those that don't know the city the breast unit is in a different hospital on the other side of town from the hospital with the maternity unit.

I feel bad for her though - if I had the same problem I would have refused to stay or send the baby home.

It makes me quite angry, it's appalling. I have attended the breast clinic at The Western myself and wouldn't exactly rave about the excellent service I received. They were not at all supportive of breast feeding and wanted to know why when I had repeated mastitis (for which i was referred) I didn't just stop breast feeding and the consultant couldn't have seemed more surprised when I said I planned to BF for a minimum of two years.

My own experience aside, if a woman has mastitis then it's not doing her health any good to stop feeding her baby suddenly. It's shocking that they don't have provision for these cases as most mastitis cases are in breast feeding mothers.

That is very sad and as Midori said, counter advice to keep milk flowing.

I can't believe women are routinely put in this position. Complain, complain complain! As she's gone to the press, presumably she intends to! I wonder how long she's admitted for?

I wonder what other hospital's policies are? If there are ones which allow it I think I'd have tried to refuse treatment till I was transferred to one that would allow my baby with me, but you can be really ill with infection and maybe not in a position to fight?

Shocking that the breast clinic aren't more supportive of their functionality!

Horrible horrible horrible!

The thought makes me want to cry

How can HCPs treating mastitis tell a mother to buy formula and bottles!

I would love to say I would have walked out and refused treatment, but you are in such a vulnerable state just then that you do tend to do what you're told, assuming your care givers know best.

I hope this becomes a national story and some good can come of it by raising awareness about the lack of knowledge and misinformation that is still out there.

'The nurses aren't trained to look after babies.'

They don't need to be - she's a perfectly healthy baby. That's what her mum's for!
And if they are trained to treat mastitis, then they know that feeding should continue.

Put her in a room by herself with the baby and provide her with a cot. The nurses would hardly know she was there, and the mastitis would clear up even quicker.

That's outrageous.

OMG, that poor woman! I can't imagine being separated from my newborn for that long. Someone needs to set those idiots at the breast unit straight, how on earth is this going to help her mastitis?

Didn't like the way the article labelled mastitis as "an infection common in mothers who breast-feed" either Way to make BF sound unhealthy. If it is 'common' then it's only due to shitty BF support.

Someone also needs to tell the breast unit that BF reduces the risk of breast cancer.

Anyone else read the shitty comments?

Nah, I've read every shitty comment about breastfeeding ever. Did you manage to tick off your whole bingo card?

I'm going to keep an eye out for any follow up but as a HCP in the city I definitely want to know why a baby can't room in with her mother who is breast feeding.

I worked in a hospital in a different region several years ago and we admitted a mum with a 9 week old, she had a fever and headaches. She was admitted to a side room in the general medical ward (not maternity) and we borrowed a cot, blankets, baby bath etc and the dad also stayed overnight to help. Basically they bent over backwards to keep them together.

I can raise this at a local committee next month.

That's brilliant that you can do something to help rectify this, lyndie. Good luck with it, let us know how you get on!