Hi All,

 

This topic always gets me because to me, the lactation is secondary in this
instance and for one main reason that my midwife talked to me about 11 yrs
ago.  Depo can cause breakthrough bleeding - during the immediate postpartum
mom will be bleeding anyway with the uterus healing.  But what if the
bleeding continues longer than it should or changes in some way that is not
normal.  Depo gets blamed, "Oh it is just one of the things that goes along
with Depo - don't worry about it.".  But what if there really is something
wrong and it isn't caught because Depo has been blamed and the HCP doesn't
look further?  What about the health risks to mom?  Forget the breastfeeding
at this point...if mom has a serious issue with her uterus and everyone
blames the unexplained continuance of bleeding on the Depo.this is a
problem!  And yes, sadly I have seen this happen.  And the end result was
not pretty.

 

The fact is that even the makers of Depo say to wait until at least 6 wks
postpartum - regardless of if you are breastfeeding.  Why are HCP's NOT
following that recommendation?  So, now not only do we have potentially
serious issues of bleeding not being caught and dealt with appropriately,
but we also have potential breastfeeding issues AND we have the HCP (for
some reason that is beyond me) giving a medication at a time when the makers
say not to.

 

I think there is a lot more going on here that needs to be looked at that
goes beyond informed consent.  Look at the age or socio-economic status of
the mothers being given this med inappropriately.  Is there something going
on there?  I've seen that too.there are some ethics that need to be looked
at.  Mothers need to know that the maker of the Medication states not to use
it before 6 weeks.the Dr needs to stop giving it before 6 weeks.

 

Ugh.this is one of those things I get really upset about.I worked with a
very young mom (15) a couple years ago whose Dr gave her a depo shot right
out the door - she didn't even know what it was.  He told her she needed it
- she said OK I trust you.  She desperately wanted to BF.her supply crashed
- she had bleeding issues that were blamed on Depo.She was so hurt and angry
that her HCP she trusted would do this to her.without her consent.  Sad.

 

 

Jaye Simpson, IBCLC, CIIM

Breastfeeding Network

Sacramento, CA

www.breastfeedingnetwork.net

 


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