PSA: doctor told me to stop BFing

dande2129

I thought I'd post here because I'm really annoyed at this doctor that I saw yesterday and I couldn't help but think if there were other new moms who were desperate for relief and took his advice, their BFing days could possibly be prematurely cut short.

I have mastitis and my OB office will not take verbal requests for prescriptions and closed on Saturdays and Sundays. I was so miserable with fever, chills, a bright red rash that went the entire side of my left breast from top to bottom and there were times when I was nursing that I honestly felt like I was going to pass out and had to have FI take the baby.

As a last resort, I went to our local urgent care facility. The doctor that I saw confirmed that I had mastitis and asked what I had been taking for it. And here's where the fun begins---- I told him that I have ibuprofen (from the hospital after I had LO) and he told me, "Oh no! You CANNOT take ibuprofen while breastfeeding! That is horrible for the baby! Better for the inflammation for you, but awful for your baby." Um..... okay.

Secondly, he prescribed me a high dose of antibiotics and told me that they were not compatible with breastfeeding and I absolutely could not breastfeed LO. I asked if there were other antibiotics he could prescribe in order for me to continue to breastfeed and he said, "No. This is the only one that's really going to clear it up. You can pump and dump, but no breastfeeding for 10 days."

He then attempted to push a shot of the antibiotic onto me and when I refused, he reminded me that mastitis can turn into sepsis. Yes, so can any other infection in your body. 

I refused the shot, didn't fill the prescription and will be calling my OB when they open today. With all of the home remedies done, it has gotten a little better but I still want to have it checked out.

So, the moral of this long story... there ARE antibiotics that can be prescribed for mastitis, if you need them, that are compatible with breastfeeding and taking ibuprofen while you're breastfeeding is also safe.