BF counsellors please tell me if I've been given duff advice ... a bit long-winded, sorry!

[ejt1764]

DD is 21 weeks old and ex. bf. We haven't started solids yet, and she suffers terribly with reflux.

She's recently stopped sleeping as well at night - from 1 or 2 feeds per night, to waking every 45 minutes in discomfort, throwing up anything she takes etc.

I went to see my GP the other day (I'm suffering with pnd, and am not coping, so have had my dose of ADs upped), and mentioned about the fact that she's not sleeping so well, (I think) as a result of the reflux medication not really working so well. My GPs advice can be boiled down to the following points:

• no point in giving her any different medication as her reflux will sort itself out eventually.

• give her ff at night as it's more difficult to digest, and she'll sleep longer. (When challenged as to whether it would also make her reflux worse, he pooh poohed that)

• she refuses to take a bottle (of ebm or anything for that matter), so to make her take a bottle, I should go away for 24 hours, and let her get hungry ...

Now, I am struggling with pnd, and the lack of sleep isn't making it any better, but I can't see how any of the advice I've been given is going to help ... - the problem is that I really respect this GP: he's been really supportive on other things ...

I'm no expert, but it sounds to me like this advice may not be the most appropriate to your situation (esp. with regard to giving formula to make her sleep, going away to make her take a bottle). I'm all for trusting the experts, but your radar seems to be working well enough. Can you get advice from a breastfeeding counsellor, La Leche League or similar? The mighty Tiktok may well spot this thread too...

You are allowed to get other opinions/advice and still respect this GP. They are general practitioners, not specialists, and can have limited advice sometimes.

ejt, your assessment of this is pretty spot on

It will help to speak to someone who knows more about bf and is better able to support your choice to bf.

Hope you find the right help.

can i ask a few questions
how is her reflux during the day?
how does she feed during the day?
what meds is she on?

I'm not a bf councillor, but have bf a baby with reflux and your gp's first response has made me quite angry. Assuming that the waking every 45 mins and throwing up is due to reflux, why on earth should your poor dd have to suffer without the right meds just because "she'll grow out of it eventually"?! Depending on what she is already taking, there may well be other meds you could try; if not, some meds (I think ranitidine and domperidone specifically - am trying to remember!) are very weight-dependant, so should be adjusted fairly regularly as your dd gets bigger to make sure she is getting the right dose.

Kellymom reckons that bm is by far the best food for a baby with reflux, as it is so easily digested. So I think you were right to question his formula suggestion.

Sounds like you need a second opinion. Can you see another gp?

Yes I agree with Liegeandlief. I bf a baby with reflux and he used to really, really suffer when he outgrew his meds, which happened about once a month if I remember rightly, We also had ranitidine and domperidone as well as baby gaviscon and for us it did really help, hough didn't cure as such. Made the difference between him constantly screaming in pain and occasionally suffering iyswim.

I would keep at it and get another opinion, or several if that's what it takes. Some GPs and health visitors just don't take this seriously. I had one GP completely dismiss reflux saying 'these days any baby that cries is diagnosed with it' which wasn't very helpful.

abeille and others - that's the impression I got from this GP - he said that reflux is the "in-thing" for any baby who doesn't feed properly!

As for DD's reflux - during the day I keep a handle on it - she's propped / sitting most of the time, and as long as she has her 6 sachets of ~Gaviscon during the day, she's fine ... at night, it's different, as she's lying down all the time.

I'm glad it's not just me being a neurotic mother btw ... pnd is making me over-anxious - I wwasn't like this at all with ds, so I question my own judgment ...

I propped the back legs of the cot up which seemed to make a big difference to her comfort during the night. I also cluster feeded from around 5 to 9ish which seemed to help as taking a lot over a long period just before bed meant that he would only wake up once or twice. For me it was also a vicious circle, i was stressed about his feeding during the day which made it worse and relaxed about his feeding at night which made it better. Is there any way of making night feeds more calming for both of you. do you have a matress in his room where you can lie down to feed, do you have some Bach or other such music to listen to
best
witch

My LO has silent reflux and gaviscon helped. She did grow out of it - as soon as she could sit up actually.

Ask for a referral to a paediatrician who might give you better advice.

Also - propping the cot really does help.

cot is propped already ... as is the change mat, the baby gym, the pram ... thanks for help and advice!