A rant about supposed breastfeeding-friendly doctors

OK, so half of you stopped reading after the title. :) I'm OK with that.

A post on my SMC list about a child vomiting sparked a memory. The poster said that the doctor told her that even if a child is vomiting liquid right back up, it is worthwhile to continue giving fluids--that a little of it stays in the stomach and is absorbed, and dehydration is the real danger. (Disclaimer: please check with your doctor or pediatrician! I am not a doctor, and this is not medical advice.)

The post made me remember when my kid was about 2 and had been vomiting for over 24 hours. Called the Kaiser advice nurse, who advised me to bring him in. Since it was a same-day appointment, we couldn't get in to see our regular pediatrician (whom I adore). The pediatrician we got happened to be the one a friend goes to, and she breastfed her son and adores this pediatrician.

I didn't, so much. She advised me to stop breastfeeding my son. "But breastmilk is like perfect Pedialyte!" I insisted. She countered with, "But it contains protein and protein is hard to digest." Flabbergasted, I replied, "Well, it's the easiest protein in the world to digest." Finally, she said, "Well, he shouldn't have dairy if he's vomiting." Stunned, I replied, "But I'm not a cow!" Dairy, my ass.

In the end, I kept breastfeeding him through this, as it was his only solace. (And it made sense to me to do so. I offered him Pedialyte for a recent stomach bug. He firmly declined it, and when I tasted it--to "show" him it tasted OK--I had to spit it out in the sink. Orangey salt water, anyone? YUCK.)

But I wasn't sorry that he vomited all over the cupboards in the exam room. (We just didn't make it to the sink in time.)

I sure wish it were a priority for doctors in this country to learn the truths and myths about breastfeeding, and that it were a priority for hospitals to really, actually support breastfeeding mothers. (I'll rant about the xerox of a lactation consultant's business card I was given in the hospital, 1 day post-C-section, another time. Oops, I just did.)