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PiscesSome Breastfeeding Moms Taking Anti-lactation Drug
Daily Mail: New mothers are turning to a drug normally prescribed to HIV positive women to cut off their breast milk in order to avoid the effects of breastfeeding on their bust.
It is also being used by career women who want to make a swift return to work, but do not want to have to cope with expressing milk from their engorged breasts when they do so.
Cabergoline, which is marketed as Dostinex, suppresses production of the hormone proloactin which stimulates milk production in new mothers.
For that reason it is used to help new mothers who are HIV positive.
Because HIV can be passed through breast milk and mothers are advised to bottle feed their babies.
Administered in two doses over the course of 12 hours the drug takes effect quickly.
But the use of the drug for social reasons has dismayed campaigners who promote the 'breast is best' message .
The Department of Health recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life and advises mothers it can continue to benefit the baby 'for many months after'.
Mothers are told: 'Every day you breastfeed makes a difference to your baby's health now and in the future.'
Not everyone, however wants to breastfeed and some women suffer painful side effects.
Kevin Harrington, an obstetrician with a private practice at London's Portland Hospital, said that he offered cabergoline to women who could not or did not want to breastfeed.
'The breastfeeding police frown on the use of cabergoline,' he told the Sunday Times.
'But for some women their breasts are an important part of their sexuality and they don't want to use them to provide milk.
'There is not enough difference between breast milk and infant formula to make a fuss about it.'
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- 11 Comments
The Breastfeeding Nazi’s need to leave these women alone! It is their decision. I breastfed all my children, I was in a situation that allowed for it. Not everyone is. There is no problem with taking a drug to ease a person’s discomfort in this situation. It is not for ‘social reasons’ it is absolutely for medical and comfort reasons.. Who, who has been through it cannot remember the pain and discomfort of engorging? Please, would you wish this pain on someone if they could avoid it? I think not.
Certainly moms want the best for their babies, including the healthful benefits of nursing them. However, those who choose not to breastfeed must have a reason for doing so - it’s their choice. Woman’s right to choose…
Breast is best, yes, but it can be very painful and difficult - the learning curve can be steep for mom and baby. I suffered through 11 months of breastfeeding/pumping because it I believed in breast milk being best. But I consider it a sacrifice I made - not a joy as some others experience it. But that’s the point, everyone’s experience is different. Judging others for choosing not to breastfeed based on their own experience is just apples to oranges.
Harrington has a point. I, personally, wouldn’t dream of taking this drug and was pleased to breastfeed my son well beyond six months. However, whether this drug is available or not, some women will choose to not breastfeed for a variety of reasons. If they choose not to, why not make it easier for them? No harm, no foul.
I don’t agree. I think it is a “social issue” if a woman is taking the medication. Our bodies are built to do this, and there are ways to ease the pain that do not include medication. Those who view their breasts simply as sexual organs, as opposed to their intended purpose of nursing, are depriving their babies for a silly, and yes “social” reason.
And, if a woman is choosing formula over breastmilk it is because it has become socially acceptable to do so.
‘There is not enough difference between breast milk and infant formula to make a fuss about it.’ This may be true on a chemical level, but the actual physiological and emotional differences between suckling a bottle and suckling at Mom’s breast should be considered, too.
There are times (very few and limited) where newborns should not get mother’s milk. Plain and simple. At the very least, get your baby the colostrum s/he needs to seal his gut.
No policing about it, it *is* a woman’s right to choose. But a lack of education on the topic, social acceptability of formula/bottlefeeding, poor maternity leave policies, and a sex-driven society contribute to uninformed, skewed decisions.
Regardless of what anyone has to say, bottle feeding your child is not putting their life in danger. You cannot get arrested for child neglect by skipping the breast nor should you. I was able to breastfeed my last two, but my first two I could not. It is a personal choice, and if there are drugs that help ease discomfort and pain for those who cannot or choose not to breastfeed, why is anyone having a fit about it? We wouldn’t deny someone Tylenol for pain because they chose to get their ears pierced, why would we deny someone an effective way to end pain and discomfort because they chose to not breatfeed? (I realize there are more benefits to breastfeeding than ear piercing, but that’s the first analogy I could think of.)
**’But for some women their breasts are an important part of their sexuality and they don’t want to use them to provide milk.
‘There is not enough difference between breast milk and infant formula to make a fuss about it.’**
The first quote is ridiculously selfish. The second is just bull. Every doctor, APA, Hospital, etc will tell you that breastfeeding is the preferred method for baby and is the BEST. Bottle feeding is an alternative when this is not an option. And in my personal opinion bottle feeding should never be an option unless medically necessary.
Why have a baby? Carry a baby for 9 months avoiding things that can harm him/her then not give them the best start possible? I don’t understand. I breastfed my daughter for 7 months and wanted to longer but was unable to. I cried for a couple of days every time I fed her a bottle after that. It didn’t feel right. You miss that bond. It is SUCH an intense bond to breastfeed your child, how could you purposely throw that away?
I had a very painful first breastfeeding experience too. My daughter wouldn’t latch, then when she finally did IT HURT!! It was very painful. I suffered from cracked nipples and blood blisters on them as well. I hear this is not always how it is but this is how my first time went for at least 3 weeks. Then my body adjusted and I was fine. No more pain. Nothing.
My daughter, by the way, is now 4 years old. She has been sick with a sinus infection ONCE. That is it. Has never had anything else. My friends daughter on the other hand has been sick off and on since she was 3 months and hospitalized with fluid in her lungs. I really do believe this difference is partly attributed to the very much added antibodies and immune system your baby gets from breast milk.
Dear Jen -
I chose not to breastfeed either of my children. They are now 5 and 2. Neither of them has had even ONE sinus infection, thank you very much. A friend’s child, who was breastfed until he was 9 months old, is allergic to wheat, dairy, soya, peas, lentils, eggs, fish … the list goes on and on. He also has eczema, asthma and waterworks problems. Breast milk did him the world of good, huh?! And having engorged breasts when I was not breastfeeding was absoloutely hell. I could not lie down for 4 days each time, and no, there is no effective pain relief. I am not going to go into the reasons why I chose to bottle feed; however, until the government makes it illegal to bottle-feed a baby, please respect other women’s choice to feed their babies however they see fit. Get off your high horse and stop being so judgmental. I respect your right to breastfeed, so do me the same courtesy please.
“It is SUCH an intense bond to breastfeed your child,”
The intense bond between mother and child exists regardless of whether or not the mother breastfed her child. I breastfed my youngest for a bit. The other two were not breastfed. My children are 21, 19, and 14. The bond that my children and I have is very strong. Parenting and nurturing is what makes the bond, not nursing.
I am really shocked and appauled at mothers being okay with not breastfeeding their children. It’s how you were made for a reason.
Wow, can’t wait to see the claws come out on this one. lol at “breastfeeding police”