Oh man! I feel awesome today, for so many reasons. For one, I am feeling 100% better after having my second bout with Mastitis. The main reason for this post stems from this breast infection I have, but I’ll get to that in a minute. I also want to let you know that I am wearing flip-flops. Yes, flip-flops. It is 60 degrees outside, and I am joyous. 30’s may be coming back for a few days, but today it is 60, and I am so glad for that. Indiana always teases us with a week or so of lovely Spring weather, and then smashes your no-coat-wearing, muscles-relaxing-because-you’ve-been-so-tense-from-cold-weather, bird-chirping good mood and reminds you with bitter cold temperatures that “HEY, you are still in Indiana! It’s not quite time for Spring, yet, silly! Put your coat back on!”. I do not love you for that, Indiana. Anyway, other things that are good: I am applying for quite a few craft shows for the Spring/Summer/Early Fall seasons. I was accepted into The Bloomington Handmade Market! I’ve not had experience with this one, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about it. Plus, it’s in Bloomington. I, for some odd reason, have not ever made it down there. So now, I have a very good reason to go. Okay, so here is another reason I am feeling so great today. Let’s backtrack, shall we?

It’s Sunday morning, and I have been stricken with Mastitis as of the late evening before. I go to Urgent Care to get my antibiotics. The doctor working comes in to talk with me about the whole situation. I tell him about the new issues that may have attributed to my getting Mastitis for the second time. Archer has been spacing out nursing more and more, and sometimes we get busy and miss feedings. (After really looking at what’s going on, I need to to pay more attention to the space between feedings. I also need to be pumping when I’m away from him for those few hours when I’m home alone to sew.) So, anyway, his advice is as follows:

I need to continue breastfeeding through the remainder of my illness, and then switch Archer over to cow’s milk. (!) This advice came from hearing that Archer is over the age of 1, and that he nurses mostly of the evenings and through the night. This to him spelled out weaning, but to me, weaning will happen naturally, and does not mean switching him over to cow’s milk within his advised “2-3 weeks”. 2-3 weeks! Weaning could be a year long process! Also, apparently since Archer is 1 now, he’s only gaining comfort from breastfeeding! I guess that all the immune boosters and nutrition that are daily adapting to my son’s needs suddenly disappear after the age of 1.

Anyway, I was appalled by the horrible advice, to say the least. I contacted my Midwife, Penny Lane CNM, to see if the Breastfeeding Coalition she is in had some sort of packet of information to send to doctors when situations like this arose. And, she did! So, this doctor has some information and a letter from me being sent to him. I can’t tell you how good it felt to write this letter.

Here it is:

Dear Dr.,

I came into Urgent Care on Sunday, March 7 at the Greenbush Arnett Clinic. I came in with Mastitis and needed antibiotics. I appreciate the prescription for the antibiotics, but I feel your recommendation to quit breastfeeding my son was horrible advice. I understand that my son is weaning, and my choice is to let that process happen naturally—which could be a year long process. We are going through a rough patch in our breastfeeding relationship, but the issues that we are having can easily be resolved. I, The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Academy of Family Physicians, the US Surgeon General, and the World Health Organization feel breastfeeding is the BEST thing I can be doing for my child. And, it is recommended to breastfeed AT LEAST through 2 years and longer if both the mother and child are still interested. So, stopping breastfeeding should be the LAST resort, considering my son’s age. There are many reasons for getting Mastitis, and I really think that my situation should have been looked at a bit longer than the 2 minutes you spoke with me to advise quitting breastfeeding. Or maybe, I should have been referred to a Lactation Consultant. If I’m going to take anyone’s advice on the breastfeeding relationship I have with my son, it is going to have to be someone with a firm background of experience and knowledge on the subject. It’s apparent to me that knowledge about breastfeeding is not something you have. To say that because my son is past the age of 1 year his sole benefit from breastfeeding is comfort, is absolutely false. He is still getting the nutrition that has been his ONLY source of nourishment for the past 12 months. Any lack of nutrients in his solid food diet is supplemented with my breast milk. Also, his immune system highly benefits from breastfeeding. I found it quite ridiculous to offer advice to switch from breast milk to cow’s milk. Cow’s milk has far less–nutritionally speaking– to offer than breast milk. Not to mention, my milk adapts to what my son needs daily. Overall, I feel your recommendation was detrimental to the health of my son.

Luckily, I am knowledgeable about breastfeeding and know when someone is giving ignorant advice. I feel sorry for the young mothers that are coming to you for advice that aren’t as knowledgeable. To recommend to a mother to stop doing the best thing she can for her child, because you are uninformed on the subject is quite sad. I do hope you will enlighten yourself on this very important subject before offering any more advice.

Sincerely,
Katie Fry

1. Jessica Martin Says:
   March 13th, 2010 at 7:25 pm

   Purchased a sling from you a while back and was looking for the directions on how to use it on your site. I came across this article and just have to say that its awesome that you took the time to inform the Doctor and call him out on his mistake. It is very scary what someone with a medcial license will tell patients without anything to back it up. Hope you feel better. Take Care!

2. Mama Kate Says:
   March 14th, 2010 at 10:05 am

   Thank you. I am feeling a lot better, and I’m still waiting to see if I get any response back from the doctor.

   If you need any more help with your sling, don’t hesitate to contact me. It takes a few tries before you and your baby get used to it. Thanks again for your order!