Jane writes, re: her mom with a breast abscess & surgeon who said she
"couldn't" BF after I&D: "Any comments, ideas on what I could have done
differently? I have not spoken to the surgeon, but would like to? Any
research on this? Any help would be appreciated."

Jane, I understand your frustration on this - another example of "whose baby
is it anyway?" Not to mention "whose body?"! But as to what more you
coulda-woulda-shoulda done, it sounds to me you did exactly what was within
your power to do. I keep thinking about this poor woman going through all
that pain and stress, and I'm picturing this woman who's just all worn out
from everything she's had to go through with this, and it's so unfortunately
easy to see how she just did what the surgeon said to do. You know, we all
think he gave bad advice (or orders, more like it!) based on a poor
knowledge of physiology and lactation (as Jack so succinctly noted), but
ultimately the decision WAS hers, whether she is able at this stage to own
it or not. So you did what you could do, and I'll bet you did it well, and
I'll bet you didn't leave her feeling stupid or bullied either. I've never
had a breast abscess, but I can easily imagine it hurting enough that I'd be
afraid to nurse.

Does she know that it's not too late to nurse at least on the other side if
she would like to? Or is it a closed issue for her? It's so sad that women
have to fight "authorities" at a time when they are in pain and need!

Cathy Bargar, RN, IBCLC

-----Original Message-----
From: Jane Ciaramella RNC, IBCLC [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Saturday, February 06, 1999 11:05 PM
Subject: Re: Breast Abscess


I saw a Mom on Friday who was diagnosed with a breast abscess 2 days prior
to
when I saw her. She came to me to discuss the possibility of continuing to
breastfeed even with abscess. I have limited experience with this condition
so
most of my knowledge is book knowledge in this respect. I shared with her
the
section in The LLL Answer Book, Auerback, and The Breastfeeding Counseling
Guide in order to give her more information with which to make an informed
decision. She expressed a strong desire to continue to BF her 3 month old
baby
who was even having allergic reactions on breastmilk only. He had had
episodes
of blood in stools and Mom had done lots of diet modifications under the
guidance of her Ped.
The surgeon, who has a very good rep in this area, advised weaning in no
uncertain terms. Mom contacted LLL , and was told she could BF even after
I&D.
I basically gave her that same information and we discussed all of her
options
of how to continue.
She saw surgeon right after me and the surgeon flat out told her NO! She was
not given a choice! If I was this Mom I would have felt strong enough to say
this is my baby and my decision , thank you for the good job on the I&D and
that's as far as your involvement goes! I tried to encourage this Mom to
make
her own informed decision given the information in the literature but I felt
like she was bullied into thinking her own health would suffer irreparably
if
she did not wean.
I even talked about BF from one breast as a last resort. She was too teary
to
talk at that point.
Any comments, ideas on what I could have done differently? I have not spoken
to the surgeon, but would like to? Any research on this?
Any help would be appreciated.
Jane Ciaramella RNC, IBCLC