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Comment by Sara on March 31, 2011 at 10:50am

Check out this link for chance to win a funky BF advocacy blanket

http://www.ifbreastfeedingoffendsyou.org/2010/08/enter-to-win-free-funky-pro.htm

Comment by Rhoda Snyder on January 18, 2011 at 6:16am

Thanks for the info!  they injected me with the  contrast. both baby and toddler seem to be doing fine.

Comment by Karen M on January 17, 2011 at 3:32pm

from this site

Answer to Question #2804 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Pregnancy and Radiation — Exposures not directly to embryo/fetus

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

Q

I just had a chest CT and am worried about the effect on my baby. I am 15 weeks pregnant (13 weeks fetal age) and they thought I might be having a clot in my lung, so they did the chest CT. Will this have any impact on my baby? They put two layers of lead shields on my pelvic region and said the x rays were only shot above that part anyway (my lungs). My concern is the iodine stuff they put in my veins. I didn't realize that was radioactive. I drank tons of water today to try to flush it out of my system. Will that hurt the baby?

A

There should be no effects from the chest CT scan. The risks to the baby are minimal, if any, when x rays are taken of areas other than the abdomen. This is because the x-ray beam is focused only on the area of interest in order to minimize doses to other areas of the body. When you receive a diagnostic x-ray study of your head, teeth, chest, arms, or legs at a qualified facility, the exposure of the x rays is not to your baby. The "scatter" that might reach the baby would be extremely small and would not represent an increased risk for birth defects or miscarriage to your embryo. As for the iodine that was used, it is not radioactive. It is used as a contrast agent—meaning that the doctors were able to see some areas within the body better with this contrast agent in them. For some additional information, you can visit the Web site Prenatal Risk Assessment, Keeping Your Unborn Baby Healthy Through .... Kelly Classic Certified Medical Health Physicist

Comment by Karen M on January 17, 2011 at 3:26pm

do you know what kind of contrast was used, and was an injected contrast or ingested (oral) contrast?

Comment by Rhoda Snyder on January 17, 2011 at 11:10am

I just had a CT scan of my chest done recently and received contrast for that.  I am breastfeeding my 2 yr. old and am also pregnant.  I was wondering if the contrast would/could harm my children in any way?  Dr. wouldnt give me much info, so i decided to ask here! would appreciate any input!  thanks!

Comment by Laura Morales on October 1, 2010 at 6:01pm

Marci, if you don't want to give her a bottle then I think you should just do whats comfortable for you. I didn't nurse my first son for very long and I had a lot of guilt over it. With my second I was determined to nurse for at least the 1st year and that's what I did. He never had a bottle and went right from breast to cup, and I don't regret it. I was very committed to BF him and it worked out great. Yes, there will be times when you may wish you could leave the baby, but it's short lived. I am currently nursing my 3rd son. I decided to pump and give him a bottle only if I need to leave him which I've done only 4 times in 5months. He doesn't really like it, he much prefers the breast. I was also pressured to give him a bottle w/ formula when he was young cause he was fussy and we weren't sure why. Thankfully I had a supportive husband and midwife that assured me that he was growing great and that he was just colicy. Sure enough when he hit 3 months the colic went away and he's been a wonderful happy baby! I'm so glad I didn't give in to the formula suggestion. He's doing great on only my breast milk to this day. Ok all that to say, do what you know is best for your baby! Exclusively BF is wonderful and totally worth the commitment. Your SIL can watch the baby when she gets a little older and can be away from you for longer periods of time. Wish you luck!

Comment by Marci For Birth Choice on October 1, 2010 at 2:56pm

I'd just like to point something out - we should perhaps be more critical of the reasoning that women "need to get baby used to a bottle." Most people who say this haven't considered that breastfeeding is what is *normal* for a baby, not the bottle. Not to mention - the way a baby sucks from the breast and sucks from a bottle are fundamentally different. Nipple confusion does exist and it is real - too often, women are swayed to try a bottle by well-meaning friends who claim "well, my kids never had nipple confusion and I don't know anyone who has a child with nipple confusion". Of course the problem with this reasoning is that anecdotal evidence is NOT research - and some babies do indeed have nipple confusion. There are cases where mothers thought their babies had no nipple confusion ...until they went for a check up and realized that their baby was no longer actively drinking from the breast - the breast was now being used as a pacifier and the bottle had taken center stage. So much to mom's dismay, the baby is no longer thriving.

It's not about horror stories. It's about taking seriously the risk of bottles. After my emergency C-section my baby ended up in the NICU for 48 hours - because of her distressed breathing, we were unable to initiate breastfeeding right after the birth (didn't happen till 6pm the next day). I pumped all the time and when my milk finally came in, she still wouldn't latch. Let me tell you how people started to pressure us to give her a bottle, including my own mother. I stood firm on the research and we had my husband and I finger feed her my pumped breastmilk because it is closer to sucking at the breast than a bottle could ever be. My baby is four weeks old today, and two days ago, she just started latching and consistently sucking on the breast. And I'm glad that I ignored all the people who were suggesting that we needed to "get her used to a bottle anyhow".

I won't give her a bottle. If for some reason I need to be away and someone else must feed her, I'm happy to let them finger feed her because the mode of extraction is far closer to breastfeeding than a bottle. To be honest, I don't even plan to use this option - I finally get to have the breastfeeding relationship I've dreamed of with my daughter, and I'm going to exclusively breastfeed her for the first year of her life. Then I'll continue breastfeeding her until 2 years old.

Ah well. All this to say - if you don't want to introduce a bottle, stand firm. The same people who criticize you for not wanting to use a bottle will likely stand idly by if you experience negative effects in your breastfeeding relationship due to introducing a bottle.

Comment by Karen M on October 1, 2010 at 10:38am

I can understand not wanting to intro a bottle, and if you don't want to at all then go for it! Its your baby not hers!! For us, we intro a bottle of pumped breastmilk after a few weeks or a month or so so that I can leave baby for awhile at some point and say, go out to dinner with my DH. We didnt with our first and she was a terror to leave, our other two we have been able to keep up some form of a date on occasion!
With his third baby I had to leave for a couple hours suddenly as my 5yo DD broke her arm and I rushed off to the hospital with her. So there he was at 3 weeks old with gramma, a bottle and a can of formula. I hadnt pumped yet so I had nothing frozen! aargh. ah well, everyone did well...

Comment by Cynthia Crossett-Powell on October 1, 2010 at 10:23am

forgot the link:)
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/28/news/la-heb-breastfeeding-2...

Comment by Cynthia Crossett-Powell on October 1, 2010 at 10:23am

Meredith - If she is swayed by evidence, there is a new study this week showing that if babies are supplemented with formula, they do not get the immune system boost that babies who are breastfeed exclusively. Otherwise, if her concerns are babysitting, maybe you can just ease her fears that you will take advantage of her between feedings (and an hour or two with an infant is long enough for most folks:).

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