I'm working with a very motivated pregnant mom. She has nursed one baby already and fed EBM to another, who had Down Syndrome and was unable to nurse. She has now been diagnosed with Graves Disease/hyperthyroidism during her third pregnancy. While there is research to show that thyroid suppressing drugs are available which don't pass into milk beyond a trace, and while babies can be tested periodically to make sure their thyroids are not affected, there are still really mixed opinions about whether nursing is appropriate. Mom has done lots of research and has seen everything I've seen. Does anyone here have an inside track on something really definitive, to help persuade a health-care team that this mom can nurse and baby can be monitored? Part of the difficulty is that she lives in a fairly small town with an insular medical community, and if one doctor "fires" her, she will have trouble finding another. She does not want to fly under the radar and really can't, because she needs a doc to keep an eye on the baby's thyroid. Her perspective is that breastfeeding seems so dispensable that they figure they can just tell her not to nurse and not have to deal with the rest, and she's not buying it. I love working with this kind of mom. She's very kind and articulate and willing to go to the mat for her baby while respectfully educating everyone around her. Lynn Carter OFS LLLL IBCLC Missouri, USA *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome