Please confirm that this is shockingly bad breastfeeding advice before I write to complain

[mawbroon]

DS is 19 months and has had around 12 bouts of vomiting in the last 24 hours. He had nothing but breastmilk through the night and had some water this morning along with a bit of rice cake because he hadn't vomited for a few hours. He started vomiting again at 4.30pm so I called NHS24 who sent us to the out of hours department at the hospital.
We saw a nurse practitioner there who examined ds and said he wasn't showing any signs of dehydration, which is good. Now, what she told me to do was to stop breastfeeding him as it just sits in the stomach and to give him water, orange juice or "something like Ribena" instead. She also gave me some rehydration sachets. Needless to say I am going to ignore her advice and continue offering ds frequent breastfeeds.
I am livid. I've been hanging around MN long enough to know that this is absolutely crap advice, isn't it? When I questioned her saying that I thought what she said about the milk in the tummy was indeed correct for cows milk but not breastmilk, she said that no, it applied to breastmilk too.
I am not being over the top to write and suggest that she gets some retraining, am I?

Ribena instead of breastmilk.... WTF??

Aww, so glad your DS is a bit better Mawbroon. poor lamb, it's so horrid when they're ill, isn't it?

Jets, I am not an expert and can only speak from my own experience but I have fed DS through several illnesses (mine, I mean, not his) including d&v (again mine, not his) when he was 4 months. At one point I was getting up every even hour to vomit and every odd hour to feed DS.

It was pretty hard physically but there didn't seem to be any change in the quantity of my milk - DS didn't feed any more frequently or drop any weight, and my bra was just as snug! The only problem was staying hydrated as I was constantly thirsty, presumably because fluid was coming out of every possible avenue. Sorry... far TMI!

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Wow. Was reading this thread with interest but I have to say I found moondog's responses to luciemule's posts very off putting. At least she apologised I suppose, but such bullying and aggression usually suggests ignorance to me. Well done for keeping your temper luciemule.

Meant Bluberry pancake...

jetjets - will try to find some decent links for you later, but it is certainly true that the mother's physical and mental state have no effect on her breastmilk, and it wuld be crap of Mother Nature to have arranged it any other way

What can sometimes happen is that a mum can be really poorly with a virus or bad infection, and she might notice a temporary drop in supply (she might notice, not she will notice) which is no more than a blip.

If a mother is literally starving, then she will find it hard to meet her baby's needs, but chronic undernourishment seems to allow her to manage just fine.

You have to remember that mothers continue to breastfeed through wars, through displacement, through terrible, stressful happenings - and indeed in these situations, breastfeeding is often the only safe way to feed.

Mothers' breastfeeding does not suffer with emotional stress, either - thank goodness. A mother's confidence and energy can suffer when she is depressed, but even in extreme cases, she can feed, and in some cases, breastfeeding her baby is the one thing she can do that makes her feel she can do something worthwhile.

Where have you read that breastfeeding is so fragile that its success depends on a mother's health and well-being?

Daisy, I dunno about the lactase supplements...I don't suppose anyone has tested them in this way. My personal feeling is that lactase supplements have some way to go before they are a convincing measure for anything - I want to see some RCTs, beyond the occasional anecdote

jetjets - I am all in favour of mothers being looked after and nurtured, but they do not need to drink extra water, or rest, or have a good diet for their babies' sake!

Kit, what do you mean? Moondog wasn't rude to Luciemule, she just said that she was another "lucky" one with a crap GP, getting crap advice...jibe was at GP, not Lucie?
Or did I read that wrong?

oops, kit, crossposted, lol

I think the emotional thing that si often mentioned, i.e. how it effects is, that it sometimes can affect let down, but not milksupply/Quality/Quantity as such...
if this is wrong, I know I can trust tiktok to correct me. Just saying that is how I understand it anwyay!

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That sounds like a great way to dehydrate him, I wouldn't stop breastfeeding

3and, acute fear, or severe shock, can affect let down temporarily. Some mothers find it easier to let down when they are away from a stressful situation, it's true, but mostly, with established breastfeeding, it really makes no difference.

Breastfeeding counsellors sometimes get calls from women who have had a really bad shock - I can recall in my experience a mother whose own mother had died suddenly, and another who had been in a horrible car crash but who was not injured - and they say 'my milk seems to have gone'. This turns out to be let down seizing up, just for a very short while.

Jetjets - many women feel thirstier when they bf, and they may even feel hungrier, too, especially in the first weeks. They just have to respond to that and they will be fine, but even if they don't, their breastmilk will not suffer.

You are right that sometimes, this is overstated in books and leaflets, but not iup to date ones, and none of the current NHS ones are like this, as far as I know,

and in some cases, breastfeeding her baby is the one thing she can do that makes her feel she can do something worthwhile. - said tiktok!!

She is SO right. I had bad (hospital treatment) PND and bf was the one thing that helped me build relationships with my dc's, adn made me feel like I was some use as a Mum!

Jetjet,why did hospital tell you not to bother???

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Jesus Christ.

That is absolutely wicked and quite quite terrifying.
Have you put an official complaint in?
You should because if not these people then do damage to other mothers.

i don't get the 5 days prem.
How can that be? Thought there was at least a 3 week window.

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I would talk it over with one of breastfeeding groups (Assoc for Breastfeeding mothers have a good helpline manned by volunteers 0870 401 7711)and get it down on paper.It would probably be a cathartic experience.
Bloody shabby.

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A lot of other people have done that here on MN Jets.
One used it as part of her application to train as a b/f counsellor.

Are you new?

I don't recall seeing your name before.

Let it all out girl. Don't hold back!

jetjets PALS are really good, they'll do it all for you. i complained about my hospital (awful bf support, evil induction practice), they took it down over the phone and emailed me a version to edit. everyone should do it.

mawbroon i hope ds still on the mend and you are having a rest.

Fishie are you Arffisimo (latterly Pinot Grigio??)
I san't keep up.

naah i am same fishie i always was. there are practically shoals these days though, perhaps i should move to something less piscine.

Could I just say in defence of health professionals re bf, that when I had mastitis on holiday I was told off for still bf a 2 year old by the silly moo cleaner who came to my hotel room as I was lying in bed, and was anticipating more of the same from the dr I went to see. Dr was at least 60 years old I thought, and he was lovely. V sympathetic.

My poor wee ds has had more D&V this morning despite going 24hrs without any. This was after some water and half a pear at breakfast time.
I got him weighed yesterday and he is 700g lighter than he was a month ago so I would reckon he's lost around a kilo.
A family member (who shall remain nameless) is hmming at the amount of breastmilk he's having and saying that maybe I've got the bug too and he's being sick because of my breastmilk. [Ignore][Ignore][Ignore]