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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Original poster

Consultant advised to stop breastfeeding for scar tissue to heal. Nuts?

40 replies

MumtoAnne · 25/09/2006 21:28

I had an episiotemy Jan 06. Within a week the whole area was brusied and inflammed and the stitches came apart. They were not resurtured (sp?).

After 6 months waiting list i was finally seen at the birth injury clinic who referred me to the phsio unit. She diagnosied a build up of scar tissue and tried ultra sound therapy which didn't help. 3 months wait to see consultant again.

He now says he will see me in another 3 months. by which time i should consider (!) stopping breastfeeding so will ovulate, and then more blood flow to the area and may heal on its own.

He said he would certainly not do surgery when breastfeeding.

He was so curt, has anyone else been told this? I really want a second opinion before i stop Bf

OP posts:
kiskidee · 25/09/2006 21:35

get a second opinion. he sounds nuts to me. and post your thread under 'breast and bottlefeeding' where more people, including bf counsellors, can read your query.

The more blood flow thing sounds like rubbish to me. I am also amazed that you weren't resutured but then again, i am not a midwife. just someone who would expect a better level of care.

Lucy1977 · 25/09/2006 21:40

Hi MumtoAnne

My stitches weren't healing to start with and my DR advised me to do Kernel exercises and pelvic floor exercises to help the blood flow to the area. I breastfeed 7.5 month old DD and at no point did they suggest I stop BF.

Not sure if this helpes. I would definately get a 2nd opinion before stopping BF and you are well within your rights to ask for it.

Toady · 25/09/2006 21:52
Shock
pookey · 25/09/2006 21:57

I had my vagina 'resurfaced' 8 months after delivery with the possibility the entire epi might have to be redone during further investigation of surgery (didnt need it luckily). The fact I was breastfeeding was not even an issue. I had a spinal block and local anesthetic if the anesthesia is an issue? Does sound mad and the length of time one is expected to wait for surgery is awful. Did you have silver nitrate put on the scar tissue ?

sallyrosie · 25/09/2006 21:59

I had similar experience - got infected and broke down then had to heal from the bottom up. Healed badly and needed minor op to sort out under local anaesthetic. My consultant had absolutely no qualms about doing it whilst I was BF.
BF does affect your oestrogen levels though and this affects the vaginal and perineal skin, so there is some sense in what they are saying. My consultant advised me to use oestrogen cream to massage into the area pre and post op.
I'd ask for a second opinion, and don't stop BFing.

sallyrosie · 25/09/2006 22:02

p.s re the not being resutured - this is normal practice as once the skin has broken down it starts to heal up at the edges and to resuture it you have to scrape away all the healing bits and make it raw again so they will join up

Original poster
MumtoAnne · 25/09/2006 22:05

so glad to hear from you all.

do i ask my gp to be referred for a second opinion? can i have that on the NHS?

The consultant actually said u never have good sex whilst breastfeeding as oestrogen levels too low (gulp)

he says the scar tissue iss not a lot,but nevertheless it is there

OP posts:
FrannyandZooey · 25/09/2006 22:09

My episiotomy was redone and I had my breastfed baby in the hospital with me while it was done. I also had a spinal and breastfed straight before and after the op. Your consultant sounds completely barking and worrying. The no good sex during breastfeeding thing is a load of complete and utter crap. I would absolutely insist on seeing someone else - preferably a woman.

Original poster
MumtoAnne · 25/09/2006 22:11

what is silver nitrate and oestrogen cream? are they over the counter?

OP posts:
sallyrosie · 25/09/2006 22:13

Of course you can ask your GP to be referred for a second opinion on the NHS and you definitely should.
Re the 'no good sex during BFing' - well from personal experience (sorry if TMI) we needed to use a little more lubricant as it does make things drier, but otherwise sex was just fine thanks!
I second the advice to see a woman this time!
Whereabouts are you in the country?

edam · 25/09/2006 22:13

The comment about sex was unprofessional and suggests he has a nasty attitude towards women. Agree with F&Z, make them send you to someone else.

pookey · 25/09/2006 22:14

I would ring the hospital and speak to whoever leads the department if you are brave enough? NHS are supposed to be promoting bf. Prob not much point going to GP unless you are lucky enough to have one who is very helpful.

sallyrosie · 25/09/2006 22:14

Silver nitrate sticks are sometimes used to cauterise little areas of tissue that aren't healing right.
Oestrogen cream was prescribed for me by said gynaecologist - it is the same stuff used by post menopausal women who have problems with vaginal dryness.

pookey · 25/09/2006 22:15

You might actually have grounds for a formal complaint, might even mean that you get seen quicker?

Original poster
MumtoAnne · 25/09/2006 22:22

being seen at UCLH. they had been brill up to this point. Who do i ask for? department head of what?

My gp is really nice, and cares. but he is very time pressured and has asked me to research something at least once! (and then let him know, as he is quite interested to know...!)

OP posts:
sallyrosie · 25/09/2006 22:24

Although you may not want to stop BFing and it does sound like he was abrupt/rude I don't actually think anything he said was medically wrong - not BFing probably would help it to heal up for reasons already stated...
In 3 months time you'd have been BFing for over a year and a lot of people would already have stopped by this point or in fact long before - it may be that he didn't realise you were planning to continue for longer. Some people may argue that if you were going to stop soon after that anyway it might be worth seeing if it got better on its own without BFing to try and avoid an operation?

btw - I am not at all against extended BFing - I fed my DD till she was 15mo and only gave up when I fell PG again and my boobs hurt too much
I am just trying to present another point of view for you to consider?

sallyrosie · 25/09/2006 22:26

If you want to phone the hospital then you could start with Patient Advice and Liason service (all hospitals should have one) - they will let you know how to make a complaint.

sallyrosie · 25/09/2006 22:27

p.p.s (sorry about multiple posts!) can't help you with specific dr to ask for - I'm based in north east!
See your GP again as well - they probably know the local consultants and can recommend who to go to (although the hospital may not let them refer to a named consultant)

Original poster
MumtoAnne · 25/09/2006 22:47

he asked how long i was planning to BF, and i said i have no plans of stopping. At age 1 or 2?

TBH it would be really hard on my ds as he is BF on demand. I am only trying to convince myself that i can go back to work for 3.5 hrs per day as he should manage that length of time without it .

OP posts:
nearlythree · 25/09/2006 23:02

I have a friend who is a nurse and she recommends Bio Oil for scar tissue, she has used it post-op herself. You can get it from the chemist, although you would need to find out if it can be used on such a delicate area (my scar is a section). HTH

vizbizz · 26/09/2006 04:59

The idea about stopping BF sounds nuts. Although having said that I found that I started feeling better once I started menstruating again. My stitches didn't tear, but I had other issues. get another opinion.

Just an aside about seeing a female rather than male specialist - in my experience the male was better. Often women will trust a woman just because she is a woman. A male specialist sometimes has to work harder to earn the trust of his patients.

I would try a formal complaint about the waiting time frame too. I am in NZ, but it's amazing how fast they can reschedule something if you word a complaint well! It certainly worked for me.

flack · 26/09/2006 06:49

You can "never" have good sex while breastfeeding? Sorry, but don't see how anybody can consider that sound medical advice!!!?

Why wouldn't he consider surgery while you were still breastfeeding? Because he doesn't think it will work due to hormonal things, or something else? Sorry, but sounds like an ignorant jerk, to me. By the time the baby is 2 and you're still breastfeeding the hormonal effects will be a lot smaller, he probably doesn't have a clue about the hormone levels in someone who is breastfeeding that long(partly not his fault for being clueless, since it's relatively uncommon and unstudied).

I started ovulating at 1 year post-partum, but kept feeding for 4-11 months after that. Why does he assume that you have to stop breastfeeding to ovulate again? Again, I think he's relatively clueless.

bamboo · 26/09/2006 11:11

I had an episiotomy and dodgy stitches too. I can see there might be something in the theory (and, I seem to recall my consultant mentioning something similar) because, like vizbizz says, I felt much better once my periods returned but it was never recommended that I stop breastfeeding - periods returned naturally when ds was about 6/7 months without cutting down breastfeeding at all.

I had the silver nitrate treatment but this seemed only to help in the short term.

I agree with others that your consultant has acted unprofessionally in his comments. Also I don't see how they could guarantee there would be any improvement if you stopped. Personally I'd have been gutted to stop and feel no benefit.

I do sympathise with you. I couldn't believe I was feeling so crap months after giving birth but it did get better.

Original poster
MumtoAnne · 26/09/2006 15:46

I tried to get thru to the gp surgery to make an appt but cant get thru. grrr.

even though he was unprofessional, he stil may be right about the oestrogen levels affecting the skin.

i am nervous about having surgery to repair, imagine 9 months on not being able to sit down again!

OP posts:
MumtoBen · 26/09/2006 19:14

I had an episiotomy and it was left unstitched. I also had internal injuries. After a year of problems internal and external I saw a consultant. She said most healing takes place in the 1st year, but you may get a bit in the 2nd year. She said as I had bf for 6 months this could have delayed healing. TBH I think she was right. I didn't really heal at all before I stopped bf. It took 15 months for me to heal to the point of not being in severe pain during sex. There might be some truth in what your consultant said, but the way he said it was probably not the best way.

I would definitely seek a second opinion. I also saw a male consultant with a very bad attitude who reduced me to tears and nearly to the point of a breakdown with what he said to me.

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