Anyone know of a paediatrician in London/SE who knows about breastfeeding?

[AllTheRAGE]

Am willing to travel for this, so if London/SE is no good, please feel free to recommend from further afield! Getting nervous now as my second is due in a couple of months and I'm anxious to avoid a repeat of last time's debacle. If I need to see a paediatrician I want to make sure it's a knowledgeable one rather than (like the ones I saw last time) one who thinks the solution to all your breastfeeding problems is simply formula.

Might not be necessary at all, but I can't just take a 'cross that bridge when I get to it' attitude, because I've been there, done that, and guess what, there is no bridge.

Thanks all in advance...

What are you worried about? Would you consider a BF counsellor rather than a paediatrician?

Where to begin. You're right I will need a lactation consultant but that's less of a worry as there are a few locally that I know of.

But last time the first three midwives said everything was fine then the fourth said I need to top up with formula & see a paediatrician as the little one lost 10% of birth weight. Paed ran tests and said all was normal, perhaps it was a weighing error, I should top up with formula. Needless to say I was confused. Ended up having to top up for next 12 months & have baby weighed every week. Very stressful and difficult - am keen to avoid this time if at all possible. Seems like a paediatrician who knows the difference between a weighing error and a milk transfer problem would be a good start...

First thing first, take a deep breath. Each baby is different, and each experience with breastfeeding is different.

It sounds like you got a lot of mixed information last time. I think your best port of call to start with, instead of a pediatrician, would be a lactation consultant, or your local breastfeeding peer support group - you're just as welcome to go along whilst pregnant. A lot of babies never see a pediatrician at all, so to head for one straight a way might be something that isn't nessicary. I understand why you are concerned, and that you are trying to cover all eventualities before faced with it, but for specific breastfeeding support, pediatricians aren't going to be the most informed. That said, if you do end up visiting a pediatrician, and are set on breastfeeding, a lot of them will support you on that, and will point you in the direction of groups to help you.

Thanks Santa... I know it could be a whole different set of problems this time, but I sort of think, I can't predict them so if I at least get myself set to cope with the ones that stymied me last time then there isn't much more I could do.

The trouble is, when you say "That said, if you do end up visiting a pediatrician, and are set on breastfeeding, a lot of them will support you on that, and will point you in the direction of groups to help you." Well that's what I thought last time, but the truth is, none of the midwives or doctors I saw offered any support at all and even when I phoned the following numbers: NCT group teacher, NCT breastfeeding advisor, NCT helpline, other bf helpline (I think Assn of bf mothers), birth centre (where baby was born), labour ward - no one even picked up the phone.

So this is why I'm trying to get organised in advance. I realise it's London not California and I'm not likely to find a paediatrician who's actually an IBCLC or anything, but just hoping someone who found one that doesn't just say 'top up with formula' as a first resort but offers support for breastfeeding - surely there must be at least one? - could recommend him/her... Because if the midwife says again, you have to see a paediatrician, I'd rather not just take my chances and end up with the sort I saw last time. Hope that makes a bit more sense.

Its really terrible you had that experience, and both the midwives and the ped. should have been more on side with you, especially seeing as everything seemed to be fine, then one midwife decided otherwise :( And you're completely right, topping up should not be the first resort in a lot of cases.

I'm a breastfeeding peer supporter in the Brighton area. I'll have a look through all my contact info later, and see if I can find any.

AlltheRAGE, totally understand about wanting to be prepared.

Paeds hardly ever see babies who are not ill - their expertise does not lie with well babies where there may possibly be a feeding issue. If you are referred to a paed, your best preparation is the questions you will ask him/her.

You can write them down!

Last time, you were flummoxed by the confusion in the paed's comments to you - that won't happen this time, because you will say 'hang on - you say it is possibly a weighing error. Lets sort that out before we talk about formula.' :)

This time, whatever happens, if someone says to you 'your baby needs more milk, start topping up', you can say 'I understand you think my baby needs more milk. I plan to supply this by making sure I breastfeed more often, ensuring my baby is transferring milk effectively....is that ok?' And you can then talk about where you will get any necessary support to enable you to do this.

Any HCP who thinks that is a weird or mad idea is just showing they don't understand much about bf and you can then assess their advice to you accordingly.

I can give you the number of my NCT BF counsellor if that would help?

No recommendations but have you thought about getting yourself a set of infant scales? I've got some (due to weight issues shortly after DS was born), and that has given me a good baseline at home - I KNOW he was weighed on the same scales, by the same person, each time I do it. So I know exactly how he is doing. I did top-up, but we had milk transfer issues (tt), and as soon as they were resolved, DS gained like a trooper from bf alone.

Wish I could believe that it's just a case of asking the right questions and getting support. I really tried last time, but was blocked at every turn. In retrospect there was clearly a problem from the very start but I didn't realise it and nor did anyone else. All the tests ordered by the paediatrician on day 5 and again day 10 when we were readmitted to hospital came back normal, but LO kept losing weight, and by day 6 I had mastitis and couldn't think straight anyway.

No one at the hospital had any advice for me other than to give formula. Eventually my doula found a private lactation consultant who came on day 11, but it was too late - I tried everything and still had to top up and go for weekly weighings for the next 6 months which was incredibly stressful.

Already my partner is saying, oh well, if we have problems we can just mix feed again, so I know I won't get any support there; I will need a professional who is on side and has the knowledge!

Thanks so much for your offers to check with contacts etc and all the good suggestions re writing things down... I'm going to try all that of course but it just seems the health service is a minefield and I need to make sure I have backup because things are looking pretty bleak as things stand at the moment.

Hmm, perhaps there's a local lactation consultant who can help. Why not start there as you say you'll be looking for one anyway?

Contact one or two and ask if they know of a helpful doc who would not straightaway undermine your efforts... You never know. London is a big place. One is bound to exist!

Good luck.