I had breakthrough bleeding when my daughter was about 11 mos old.. I got
my period about every 15 days sometimes.. I'm also Orthodox, so it was not
fun.  My rabbi however was very sympathetic, especially in some of the
situations (for details email me).

I found that nursing my daughter at least 4 times a   day kept away the
problems.

I also had a skin tag after my daughter's birth and if it hadn't been for
the family purity laws, I don't think I would have found it.

Nofia
Human Milk Advocate

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> From: Pearl Shifer <[log in to unmask]>
> To:
> Subject: Re: vaginal bleeding (Toby's post)
> Date: Wednesday, September 25, 1996 10:11 AM
>
>  Some women who have had this problem find that they need to breastfeed
> on schedule; the theory being that there is "break through bleeding"
> because of minute hormone shifts that occur when breastfeeding is
> erratic, and that the hormones will "balance" when the breastfeeding
> hormone shifts are more regular.
> Of course, this never would have worked with me, since my kids had no
> schedule, and I never could or would put them on one! But it may be
> worth a try for Toby's client.
> Another thing to look at: sometimes skin tags in the vaginal area can
> cause bleeding when they are irritated and the mom is told that she is
> bleeding bec. of breastfeeding. I know, because this happened to me. My
> OB did NOT pick up the unhealed skin tag at the six week check up and I
> continued to have "spotting" or "staining". Guess what, this was from
> the skin tag. Guess who picked it up- ME - when intercourse continued to
> be painful. This was an "oops" that the OB missed. A simple cauterization
> took care of THAT problem. Hey, did I even know that skin tags could be
> caused by the birth process? Heck no.
>
> I'd be curious to know what type of "vaginal" bleeding this mom is
> having, anyway. What else is going on? As far as this being a problem
> for Orthodox women, sometimes a rabbi will be more sympathetic than the
> doctor seems to be and the mother should consult her particular
> rabbi/leader/teacher for the solution to the continued problem. There
> are often extenuating circumstances that the rabbi takes into
> consideration, unlike the MD who doesn't seem to have ANY consideration
> for this mother and her family. How about suggesting a second opinion?
>
> Some "naturally" oriented nutritionists recommend folic acid to control
> the "breakthrough" bleeding; also VIT C and bioflavinoids.
> Good luck, Toby, with this...
> Pearl Shifer, IBCLC
>