Kathleen G. Auerbach wrote:
>
> How about turning things around and applauding the EXCELLENT care being
> offered to breastfeeding mothers and their nursing babies? Surely, there
> must be SOME of that going on!?

Okay, I have one...last month I had a breast biopsy (my 3rd in 18
months). My almost 2 year old daughter nurses very frequently (10+ times
per day).  When I saw the surgeon I made it clear that I was nursing my
child and wanted minimal interference with that breast.  I am only using
that one breast--Molly refuses the other.

The surgeon (former pediatrician) never ONCE suggested I wean her.  He
did ask if weaning was in the near future and when I replied in the
negative, he never asked again. He also wanted to make an areolar
incision.  When I explained why I didn't want the incision there, he
made it somewhere else although it made things more difficult for him
(the mass was behind the areola so he had to tunnel).  He was also very
careful to remove all traces of betadine from my skin so Molly would not
ingest any (can cause hypo(?)thyroidism in children).

At my followup, before he even gave me the results (benign) he wanted to
know if she was nursing okay and did she take the breast immediately
(oh, about 2 seconds after I walked in the door).

And, to top it off, this was part of the (much maligned) military
medical system (an *ancient* Army hospital).

Have a good weekend all!

Kathy Koch, LLL Leader
Alexandria, VA, where the cherry blossoms are breathtaking.
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