OK, here's what I think is going on, and if I'm wrong I'll be THE FIRST to back down, with apologies all around: I bet that the doctor hears the word "Haitian", assumes AIDS/HIV, and comes up with this whole medication thing as a "reason" she shouldn't breastfeed. I really, really hope that I'm wrong about this, that it's just medical arrogance - the doctor not knowing enough about the med to REALLY know about its safety w'BFing, assuming (as happens so frequently) that it's not safe, and the being defensive when he's presented with other information (esp. since it sounds like a bad scene already between his nurse & the LC). But I'm betting it's the Haitian/HIV issue. Why? Because I've known a lot of medical people, doctors and nurses, who react in a very similar way. Same thing happens with certain "troublesome" types of teens who give birth: the doctor or nurse *assumes* that "she isn't a candidate for BFing" - they assume that "she's at high risk for HIV", or assume that she's looks like a drug abuser to them (or, God forbid, maybe she had a positive marijuana screen), or that she's "unfit" in some other non-explicit way, and advise her against BFing. So this doesn't give you any suggestions for help, Ilene, except that if you start thinking that this might be what's in his head maybe you can approach the issue a little differently, rather than battling it out on the medication issue. You might ask, for example, if there's any bloodwork the mom could have done that would reassure him about her continuing to breastfeed. (Worded, of course, to oh-so-subtly remind him that whether or not she breastfeeds her baby is NOT his decision.) Cathy Bargar, RN, IBCLC Ithaca NY *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html