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

[MumtoAnne]

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

hiya, just to update, i went to the gp and he agreed with the consultant that having oestrogen could help healing. But he was far nicer about it, and said there is no urgency, it depends how much the scar tissue is bothering me vs. how much i want to continue bf.

he did prescribe canesten hc for healing. Though i wonder if you can get oestrogen cream?

The bf is going sooo well this time, it would be such a shame to stop. (we had lots of weight gain problems last time, or rather lack of weight gain). But i do want all the birth issues to be cleared up. My ds is 9 months. By the time i have my next appt he will be 12 months. I really want closure on his birth

Have had problems with stitches in the past (junior doctor was s**t at stitching!) but never told to stop breastfeeding, seems strange thing to say, keep up the good work if your gp doesn,t think its a problem. Rubbing with any sort of cream i.e. E45 would work on scar tissue as its the rubbing that does the trick, brings active scar tissue to surface, rubbing helps to flatten it same principle as scar management in burns.

you can get this cream - ask your gp for the name.

rubbish on the bf & healing aspect - complete twaddle imho

make a complaint about the statements he made.

The comment about sex makes me think he's a bit... well... odd and I'd be concerned about following his other advice. DS is 20 months, I'm still bf and I've had plenty of good sex since he was born, thank you very much.

I'm gobsmacked that you had to endure this through UCLH. I had two chidlren there, and with the first had problems with my stitches not healing. I was seen twice or three times for cauterisation in the first 6m, and when that didn't work was refered for reconstructive surgery. Breastfeeding was never an issue, and I had the surgery less than 3m after referral. During this period I was refered to another consultant (something in Reproductive medicine, can't remember what exactly) who suggested that I use Delfen for lubrication and contraception as I was still bfing. Unfortunately I couldn't use it as it stung the wound desperately, but I'm telling you this as an example of the fact that there are other options.

If you can, ask to be referred to Ms Melanie Davis. I don't know whether your problem would come under Obstetrics or Gyne (she's dropped her Gyne work to concentrate on Obs), but she is a wonderful, gentle, authoritative person. And she treats her patients with respect.

i actually remember Melanie Davis from the ante natal clinic! She never actually saw me face to face but did sign my notes sometimes. She did seem really nice.

Up and to and including th ebirth, i was really happy with uch. just this is ridiculous.

There was another doctor george pandis, who, if i remeber correctly ,was becomng a consultant at the time. He saw me on a few occasions informally and gave me contact details if we were stuck - which we have now lost . He was brilliant, took a personal interest, and was really funny

As she has signed your notes, I imagine you have a better chance of seeing her than if you had not had any contact with her at all. Try - you never know. Especially if you explain that you are very distressed by the relationship with your current consultant, and would like to see her as she is a woman and has been involved in your care in the past.

Have you kept any of the maternity notes from the birth? If so, have a look in there, you may have put Pandis' details in with them (it's the sort of thing I would do).

Just to add my story, I was offered the surgery to 're-do' my episiotomy 9 months after my son's birth, due to the scar not healing / agonising sex. I wasn't allowed to have this surgery until i'd started ovulating (I was still BF and hadn't yet got my period back) as he explained that the level of oestregen changes dramatically once BF is over. I was so desparate to heal from my wound I gave up BF the next day. Then slowly but surely, from that point, my wound did start healing by itself, to the point where I decided not to have the surgery.

So, it appears there may be medical reasons for your consultants approach (although what a shitty bedside manner!)

Good luck anyway.

oh, perhaps i should stop now.....I am probably being a bit stupid as my ds is losing interest in the day, and i keep offereing him, so that i will have milk when he wants to have in the morn and night. (i cant seem to be able do it just then if i dont keep offering during the day).

I also use it as a comfort so dont will find it so hard to stop.

i get all teary at the idea of stopping him. I guess its a decision for me as how bad the scar is bothering me vs. how much i want to keep breastfeeding. And its so convient not ovulating as well!

meant to say 'use it as a comfort so will be hard to stop and i dont know how to'

thanks LuubyLuu for telling me what happened to you. might inspire me to give up.

He sounds like an absolute wanker. Why not call the NCT helpline and see what they say?

I haven't read all this - but I had urinary incontinence after my DD was born

After about 9 months (& 5 months of physio) I was told to stop B/Fing because the muscles would never repair unless I did- I did reluctantly

It did not help and I regret it even now (over 8yrs later)

I have since been told (by a female consultant) that the BF would make little difference anyway

I do feel sad about it

MumtoAnne, as I posted earlier in the thread, I had my episiotomy redone from scratch while breastfeeding - I breastfed all through recovering from the surgery - I am still breastfeeding now, years later - I healed perfectly from the surgery and never experience any problems or discomfort now.

wow. i really hope this doesnt come across as flippant and (frankly) rude as it sounds in my head, but after reading this thread i am sooooooooo grateful for my easy-peasy no complications births and recoveries.

i really hope that you are feeling better soon, whatever you decide.

fwiw - i would follow PrettyCandles' advice and ask to see the other consultant.

i definately will see someone else next time - that consultant should haveretired but ws covering someone's long term sick leave. Will check a month before the appt if she is back as will refuse old consultant.

FrannyandZooey - how lond did you/do you breastfeed? the consultant was saying that its best to avoid surgery if possible. Although i think he was unprofessional, in this matter isnt surgery best avoided?

I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to hospitals - i can just pass it and my hand will hurt where they put the drip in! Did it hurt post surgery like after the birth? is it a few weeks of not sitting comfortably, hurting when walking etc?