Hi, all:  I have been helping a mother on the telephone for a few months,
essentially supporting her continued nursing of her 19-month-old toddler
in the face of overwhelming difficulties (her physicians' unwillingness
to prescribe the antidepressants she needs, lack of support at home, etc
- it's a long story).
Tonight she called me because 2 weeks ago she had
had abnormal bleeding (serum pregnancy test negative) which resolved but
5 days ago she developed profuse bleeding which has continued off and on,
though less profuse until today.  Yesterday she saw her gyn, who examined
her and told her that it's "abnormal bleeding" (possible ovarian cyst,
fibroid, etc) and plans to do an endometrial biopsy and possibly an
ultrasound on Friday if the bleeding persists.  Of course, she has told
the mother to stop bf (currently nursing 2-3X/d), or she won't do the
bx.  The mother nursed the child to sleep last night but "held her off"
by distracting her most of the day.  She called me because she didn't
want to deny the child tonight's nursing and if *I* said there was a good
reason to stop bf she would do it.
Bearing in mind that she's not my
patient, I suggested that she ask the gyn to explain how bf would cause
continued bleeding and how continuing to bf would affect the gyn's
ability to diagnose the problem.  She did not wish to do this, as that
would be admitting to the gyn that she's still nursing, and that may
cause delay in her diagnosis.  She plans to "yes" the gyn, tell her that
she weaned the baby, and get the bx done.
Of course, this is just another case of bf being blamed for everything.
Of course, I support this mother continuing to bf and it looks as though
she will do so.  When the situation is a little cooled down, I plan to
contact her gyn to *educate* her.  Does anyone have any info or
experiences which I may be missing here?  Comments and suggestions
welcome.  Alicia.  [log in to unmask]