Pediatrician criticized me for nursing *their response letter*

[Fither]

i'm looking for a little support here

we had jack's one year well baby visit today, and i couldn't believe the things his ped said to me.

her: "so what is jack eating these days?"

me: "breastmilk and table food, he eats pretty much everything."

her: "you do realize that there is absolutely no nutritional benefit to nursing past one year, don't you?"

me: silence

her: (after my half a second of silence) "you REALLY need to wean him off of the breastmilk and introduce whole milk over the next three months, i'll be very concerned if he's not on whole milk by then"

me: silent head nods

my husband: "well he gets rice milk in his sippy as well" big mistake. i mean he only gets like an ounce per week for crying out loud.

her: "well that is absolute no, NO more rice milk. there is no vitamin D in rice milk, toddlers should NEVER have rice milk"

me: silence

her: "exactly how long do you plan to nurse?"

me: "i'd like to make it until two years"

her: "i find that very concerning, his nutritional needs are no longer being met by breastmilk, he needs whole milk, and if you won't do that, he needs to be on soy milk."

me: "ok....moving along...."




ok, i just had to do that! i was soooooooooo angry!!! i was seriously speechless! i mean how can she say that there is NO benefit to nursing past one year?? that's just asinine. why on earth would the WHO recommend a minimum of two years, if there were no benefit? does she think that my milk turns to water at the stroke of midnight on his one year birthday?

so mamas who nursed past one year, did anyone else get this much trouble from your ped about it? i had no plans to introduce cows milk to him for at least another couple of months, and then we were going to do it slowly. OH, and before i forget, i checked his container of organic rice milk as soon as we got home, and THERE IS VITAMIN D ADDED. one serving is 30% of the recommended daily allowance.

thanks for reading my rant, i feel better getting it out

[travelinmom]

Since when did your breastmilk change? That's just bull, your body is producing he same breastmilk that he's been nursing the past year. My doctor tried to pull that bull with me too. We haven't been back to him yet but I plan on presenting a lot of information when I do. So he doesn't try to "educate" other mothers like that

Info on breastfeeding and extended breastfeeding.
http://www.llli.org/ba/May06.html

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBextended.html

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/index.html

[Fither]

Originally Posted by travelinmom Since when did your breastmilk change? That's just bull, your body is producing he same breastmilk that he's been nursing the past year. My doctor tried to pull that bull with me too. We haven't been back to him yet but I plan on presenting a lot of information when I do. So he doesn't try to "educate" other mothers like that Info on breastfeeding and extended breastfeeding. http://www.llli.org/ba/May06.html http://www.llli.org/NB/NBextended.html http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/index.html

thank you for the links mama! i'm going to read them when my son is a little less demanding, lol. i think that won't be until after bed tonight!

[ravenonyx]

I'd tell her flatout that she is uneducated about breastfeeding, and you'll be following the WHO recommendations, thank you very much. And I would stop the conversation there unless you really feel the need to get in an argument about educating her about it. Just put your foot down and say that she can keep her uneducated opinion to herself or you will find a new pediatrician who can actually KEEP UP with kids healthcare recc's.

[SugarBunsWool&More]

Tell her to shut it! There is never a time where breastmilk doesn't have any benefit to a child.
Tell her that your breastfeeding is your business and you'll thank her to keep her 'opinions' about it to herself. Remind her that the AAP recommends breastfeeding to AT LEAST 12 months and the WHO recommends AT LEAST 2 years.
As long as your baby is growing and doing well, tell her to shove it.

I'm a little firecracker today, I had a bad day at work so you may not want to actually tell your Ped. to shove it, ok? But you get the idea.

[Fither]

Originally Posted by RileysMama Tell him to shut it! There is never a time where breastmilk doesn't have any benefit to a child. Tell him that your breastfeeding is your business and you'll thank him to keep his opinions about it to himself. Remind him that the AAP recommends breastfeeding to AT LEAST 12 months and the WHO recommends AT LEAST 2 years. As long as your baby is growing and doing well, tell him to shove it. I'm a little firecracker today, I had a bad day at work so you may not want to actually tell your Ped. to shove it, ok? But you get the idea.

thanks mama.

and yeah, jack is in the 75th percentile for height and weight, so i think he's doing fine. the thing is, she kept saying how healthy, happy, and great he looks. i wanted to be like, "uh yeah! he's a happy breastfed baby!!"

[ChurchPunkMom]

Ditto the above posters!

Man, what and IDIOT!!!

[Gwen]

I'm so shocked by that ignorant doc I can hardly type....

PLEASE FIND A NEW PED.

I'm a family practice PA-C - not all Doc's are made equal and this lady is NOT practicing evidence based medicine. If she is behind on something as important as that - what else is she not up to date on....

Providers are only as good as their continuing medical education and their ability to listen and think...

If at all possible I would really think of finding someone new..

Gwen

[Kimmomy2dom]

Ugh You're doing great, mama.
Tell her to go back to school if she keeps it up, LOL. Ped appointments always freak me out for some reason...that must be it!

[Sweetforestcat]

oh hugs mama. I would send her the information on the benefits of extended breastfeeding ...in the mail with a note!