I just wanted to respond antidotally to Ruth Sweet's post about flu shots.  I
have just joined lactnet, so have missed the discussion on the shots
(unfortutely).
After encouraging patients to take the flu shot at the busy family practice
office where I work, I decided to get mine.  I am nursing my 13 month old on
the left side (he refused the right breast at 10 months)  (unilateral
nursing... another story)  Anyway, I always call our pregnancy risk line here
in Salt Lake City before I take anything.  I have avoided even simple
medications like antihistimines after being told there was a theroetical risk
of reducing my milk supply even after one dose!  Now I sit here with an
aching left arm, a hot and aching left breast, and darned if I don't feel as
if my milk supply has been severely reduced.  Anyway, moral of the story, ANY
medication can reduce your milk supply.  Flu shots can interfere with nursing
for a variety of simple reasons.
     I also work at a family practice residency training site and have been
appalled at the lack of training, poor advice given by our residents.  The
bright side is one of our residents who is pregnant has gone to a LLL meeting
with me already!  There is really good and really bad advise out there.
 Hopefully mothers can hook up with qualified breastfeeding experts before it
is too late!  I have become the "go-to" person at my clinic simply because
everyone saw me breastfeeding my infant on my lunch hour when I returned to
work.  I had NO formal training as a physician assistant.  Hopefully I can
start to change things.  For now, I need to get educated myself.

Jennifer Myers Coombs, Physician Assistant