Hi All,

 

Quite honestly if the medication is an L2 then the Dr can say whatever he
wants and the mom can use her own brains to recognize that the medication is
Safe and she can go ahead and breastfeed.  She has options here:  1) Make
her own decision and breastfeed regardless of what her Dr says;  2)  Listen
to the Dr and not breastfeed or  3) She find a different Dr who has a clue.

 

Now let's get down to the seriousness of MS.  My ex-husband was diagnosed
with MS a few years ago much to our mutual shock and fear.  My 2 younger
boys are now at risk for developing MS - I am NOT too thrilled with that
thought.  In fact it scares the hell out of me and I have to purposefully
NOT think about it or I get really emotionally upset.  It turns out that it
runs in my ex- husband's family quite strongly.  The fear for me is
sometimes overwhelming - I see what my ex is going through and I do NOT want
that for my boys.  

 

Now luckily for the boys and me, we breastfed for many years - 3 yrs 2
months for boy #2 and 4.5 yrs for boy #3.  Given the importance of
breastmilk and the physical act of breastfeeding on the developing brain, I
figure (no references here - just my own common sense) that I may very well
have reduced my children's overall risk of developing MS.  They got the
necessary 21 months of optimal brain development (Nils Bergman I believe)
and an extra year plus on top of that.  Their brains got everything they
needed to grow to the most optimal level possible.  Thank goodness I was too
stubborn to listen to my mother's side of the family when they told me that
nursing more than 6 months was disgusting and that nursing past 18 months
was sexual abuse.

 

Now doesn't it stand to reason that since this mother already has MS that
her baby is more at risk?  It does to me since it does seem to be a
hereditary type thing.  Why on earth would her Dr recommend anything other
than breastfeeding for this baby?  This mother would be well advised to
breastfeeding this baby, and any baby she has, for as long as possible - at
least the first 21 months - to give her baby the best possible brain
development and to possibly reduce the risk of her child developing MS later
in life.

 

If you can't tell - this is a VERY emotional subject for me.  Watching my
kid's dad steadily decline is terrifying for all of us.  My children have
only one thing keeping them from being terrified out of their minds about
this MS thing - the fact that they breastfed for so long.  They also believe
that the long term breastfeeding gave them the best possible brain
development and that that will help them in the future.  They know their
brain development is much better than their father's was (formula fed and
very sickly as a baby due to the formula).   My youngest thanks me every now
and again for letting him breastfeed (his word) for 4.5 yrs.  Sweet and sad
at the same time.

 

I strongly encourage anyone who has MS to breastfeed as long as possible.
Any wonder why?  At the very least it sure as hell can't hurt and is clearly
so much more superior to formula.

 

Jaye.

 

 

Jaye Simpson, IBCLC, CIIM

Breastfeeding Network

Sacramento, CA

www.breastfeedingnetwork.net

 


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