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I would really appreciated if anybody gives me advice
on this. I have a 71/2 month old baby boy I love nursing , but I have to give up nursing
cold turkey. So far I haven't nursed him for twenty four hours and I am in massive pain.
The doctor gave me some suggestions, like wearing a tight bra and taking
Tylenol for the
pain. I can't take the pain anymore it's killing me! The reason why I have to stop nursing
is because the doctor found a big lump in my left breast and it needs immediate attention.
Please help!
Mother in need!
 Dear "Mother in Need",
I'm so sorry you have gone through so much pain unnecessarily. I can't
believe a doctor would tell you to stop nursing because he found a lump. It could just be
a plugged duct! Does he know for a fact that it's not? And even if it's not, many women
have had surgery on their breasts while breastfeeding. It's quite common actually!
It's even worse that he didn't tell you what you needed to do to wean comfortably--and
safely. Going "cold turkey" and wearing a tight bra can be very damaging to the
breast tissue. I know of two women who ended up with a breast abscess because of such
advice! It is no longer considered good advice either to bind the breast or to go
"cold turkey" because of the risk of breast infections and, even worse, breast
abscesses. You should have been told to wean gradually.
Also, there is absolutely no reason to wean on the other side! Each breast functions
independently of the other, so you can wean on one side and it will " dry up,"
while the other continues to make milk. Using some hot wet towels prior to nursing and
then putting your baby back to the breast will get the milk flowing again. On the other
side you will probably now have far worse lumps than you had initially simply because of
going "cold turkey!"
There is not much I can do to help you at this point. Since a doctor gave you those
"orders," I cannot advise you to go against them; however, I will say that this
is one of those situations where another doctor might have handled the situation very
differently. Have you even considered the option of getting a second opinion? I would
strongly encourage you to try to find a local lactation consultant to help in this
situation.
Good luck!
Cher Sealy, RN, BSN, IBCLC, LLLL
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