Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Feb
24
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“…It Will Hurt So Bad You’ll Switch To Formula.”
“Just so you know, when your milk comes in, you’ll have HORRIBLE uterine cramping when you nurse. It’ll hurt so bad that you’ll switch to formula.” -OB to mother during a visit the day after she birthed.
There are 33 comments to this post.
attached2mykids had this to say,
Feb 24, 2010 @ 4:47 am (Quote)
Again, I wonder which formula company is lining his wallets…
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The Deranged Housewife had this to say,
Feb 24, 2010 @ 4:53 am (Quote)
More stupid lies!
Just so Nurse Ratchet knows, I had cramping with my first baby and none at all with my first or second. I considered it part of a normal process, and yeah, it hurt, but only for a few days. When I had my second, I think I had forgotten about it, because when the nurse asked about cramping, I was like, “What are you talking about?” She was surprised. LOL Apparently you’re “supposed” to get them more with later pregnancies, but it was the opposite for me. And certainly not bad enough to switch to formula. What a load of sh!t.
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The Deranged Housewife Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 4:54 am (Quote)
That should read second and third babies…I don’t know how many children I have, apparently! 
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Sheva Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 5:11 am (Quote)
Don’t worry – brains shrink with pregnancy, apparently. It’s amazing how much we DO remember!
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The Deranged Housewife Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 6:56 am (Quote)
I really need to have a second cup of coffee this am. I thought this was a nurse who made this comment – now I see it’s probably a male OB, thusly one who has no boobs (and no uterus) and has never nursed before. Makes perfect sense now! :O
Sometimes I read these insipid comments from doctors and think, What is this, 1950?!
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I had it worse with each consecutive baby.
My midwife told me to take an Aleve, and it worked wonders. I usually take two, a couple of hours after the birth, and by the time they wear off 12 hours later, the worst of the cramps are over. So for 12 hours I should switch to formula??
Attachedtomykids – I agree with you – it DOES sound like doc is making a bit of money one the side.
Ick.
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That’s just awful! The day of my first visit my OB asked if I planned on breastfeeding, and before I could answer she said it was of course my choice but that breastfeeding was so much better for babies if I could manage. I wanted to hug her. At the hospital after each (2 separate occasions) of my babies were born, they had barely cut the cord and weighed them that the OB handed me my baby and asked if I wanted to try feeding her/him. They make sure you get the baby to latch and everything before they’ll take you to your room. I wish every hospital was like mine. They systematically encourage breastfeeding and set up home visits with lactation consultants as well as lots of info on the local breastfeeding league. They warned me about the cramping, but said it would pass, it would shrink my uterus, and even though it hurt I would be proud of myself in the long run. They were right!
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Katiecnm Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 4:40 pm (Quote)
YEAH for your hospital, Stephanie!
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Stephanie Reply:
February 25th, 2010 at 10:07 am (Quote)
I know, right? As I read all this horror stories I can’t help but be so grateful for all the wonder peri-natal care I have received and am now receiving with my 3rd pregnancy. My only real complaint was a nurse telling me I really should get an amniocentesis (sp?) so that I could ‘take care of it’ if there were down syndrome markers. I couldn’t believe my ears. When I questioned her she literally brought up abortion for non-viable fetuses. I complained to the doctor and they dealt with her quickly.
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Wow. So much misinformation!
First of all, the uterine cramping continues while the uterus is returning down into the pelvis. Typically after the first day or two the worst of it is past.
Milk comes in on average between 2-4 days after giving birth, sometimes longer. By the time the milk comes in, the afterpains tend to be gone.
Not everyone has severe afterpains, and I would think taking a pain reliever would be a more effective treatment than stopping breastfeeding and dealing with the engorgement and pain of drying up the milk. Not to mention the price of formula for 12 months vs the price of a pain reliever for 1-2 days, the health consequences of stopping breastfeeding early for both mother and child…
I apparently missed the memo that I was supposed to be in crippling unbearable pain after the birth of my second child. The nurse saw the unopened package of ibuprofen and gasped “You haven’t been taking your pain medication!”
I looked at her like she had lost her mind and replied “If I have any pain then I’ll be sure to take something for it.”
Seriously, I had slight cramping while nursing, but it passed after a minute or two, faster than it would take for a pain pill to even take effect! Mostly I felt GREAT and couldn’t wait to take my baby and go home.
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Jane Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 9:43 am (Quote)
After my first birth, I took Advil so the nurses would feel better. I felt fine and didn’t want any kind of pain medication, but they kept jumping all over me because surely I was in agony or something.
I took the Advil once and the nurses’ pain was relieved. Or at least their nagging was. :-b
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My after pains with my second were terrible. I would have 8 minute long contractions. My nurse was an idiot. I told her how much pain they caused me and she would say, “Are you in pain right now?”
“No, but when I get hit with one of these, it’s 8-10 minutes of severe pain.”
“But right now, you’re not in pain?”
“No, because I’m not having an 8 minute contraction right now.”
“Well, if you aren’t in pain right now, I can’t do anything for you.”
Umm, thanks! You’ve been super helpful.
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suzanne Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 8:17 am (Quote)
But, I really should add, your uterus has to contract whether you breastfeed or not, so I don’t know what the difference is in the long run. Maybe it’s slower if you are formula feeding.
And I nursed through it. I mean, who wants to deal with bottles if you don’t have to?
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After my third baby, I had afterpains that, in all honesty, were worse than all but the last 30 min or so of labor. They lasted about 3 or 4 days, even though (by my midwife’s checking) my uterus involved quite rapidly. I tried AfterEase, but it didn’t help (or didn’t help enough), so I finally bit the bullet and took some ibu. Never considered not nursing, though – I doubt it would help, as I got them in between as well as while nursing. Just because your uterus may contract more strongly in response to oxytocin while you’re nursing doesn’t mean that nursing causes afterpains, Dr. Dolt. 
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mystic_eye had this to say,
Feb 24, 2010 @ 9:21 am (Quote)
By that logic I should have my uterus removed because of menstrual cramps
PS My menstrual cramps in highschool were worse 100 times worse than my two completely unmedicated labours, let alone after pains. Yet in highschool no doctor would take it seriously.
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Jespren Reply:
February 25th, 2010 at 4:40 pm (Quote)
I was the same way Mystic_eye, my period pains in high school/college were absolutely horrible. I had to get down on the floor in a fetal position just to get through the cramp. My mom, having never had more than minor cramps thought i was just being a wimp. My dad was more sympathetic, his first wife had horrible cramps. He brought me home midal in an attempt to help! My contractions never got as bad as my period pains.
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JulietsButterfly Reply:
May 10th, 2010 at 6:16 pm (Quote)
I had the same thing! My MOTHER of all people told me that “The afterbirth pains will be worse this time!” and I said “the what?” Yeah, there was a bit of cramping, but nothing worse than my menstrual pains before I was pg with my second. They went away just like my cramps would have gone away…and I think that because I’m still nursing, 2 years later, that my period isn’t as bad as it could be these days.
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The Mommy Blawger had this to say,
Feb 24, 2010 @ 9:46 am (Quote)
It would be hard to say this with a straight face to a woman who just had an medicated labor.
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The Mommy Blawger Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 9:47 am (Quote)
I mean, an *un*medicated labor.
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My afterbirth contractions with my first WERE horrible. Thanks to the pitocin that they gave me after my unmedicated birth. I was in complete agony and begging for drugs when I never did so in labor. But by the time my milk came in they weren’t that bad. Definately not worth giving formula over.
For my second (without afterbirth pit this time) it was much more bearable. I got through it with a heating pad and an herbal tincture.
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WellBegun Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 5:20 pm (Quote)
Interesting. The only time I had anything after the birth was with my second – there was some bleeding from an unknown source and my CPM hit me with blue cohosh and angelica. Didn’t really notice any afterpains that birth. The third one – with the afterpains that really did resemble the debilitating menstrual cramps I used to get – I didn’t have anything after the birth, and had an EBL of 150. I wonder if vascularity/amount of blood loss plays a role? (This is just idle musing, nothing scientific.)
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Krista had this to say,
Feb 24, 2010 @ 7:06 pm (Quote)
My second baby caused me debilitating afterpains. I would bf as long as I could take it, then I’d have to pull him off so I could go throw up. Next to my epi, it was the most pain I’ve ever experienced (including 2 totally natural births of 8 lb + babies). IDK if it was leftover pit or what, but it was unimaginable. The staff gave me Demoral (still can’t figure out how that’s okay, but I felt like I was dying, so I took it). I knew the bf was making it worse, but it never crossed my mind to stop! …def glad it wasn’t that bad this time! 
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Yup, It hurts like crazy but I’d rather have my uterus back to it’s normal size then have it all floppy distended and poochy. I wonder what the risks of prolapse are with a normal sized uterus or a BFing mom vs a uncontracted one of a formula feeding mom. Hmmm.
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I barely noticed any cramping, so neener neener idiot OB!!! Even if I did, it would not stop me from providing my children with perfect nutrition and not nasty chemical soup!
**Nursed baby #1 for 2.5 years; currently nursing my 4 month old
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My cramping was horrible the first week…but then it subsided.
It’s horrible how many places want to force formula on mothers. Happened with my first.
Thankfully I found a pro-breastfeeding hospital for my 2nd.
We’ve been successfully breastfeeding since birth (one month so far!)
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I really wish that hospitals were more supportive of breastfeeding. I think it’s fantastic.
I think the trend will continue to go to pro-breastfeeding if more mothers pipe up and say, “well, it might hurt, but it’s what I’ve chosen to do for my child. Thank you for informing me of the potential outcome, but I would appreciate some support in my decision.”
I think people are too afraid to stick up for what they want, but willingly complain (loudly) when they feel bullied. Bullying is going to happen, and the only one that can stick up for you is yourself.
I breastfed my son and loved every single day of it. Except when those teeth came in.
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“Horrible” isn’t the right word. But even if it was, that pain just means that the uterus is shrinking back to its proper size.
And for the record, I felt that cramping mostly BEFORE my milk came in. By the time it came in, the cramping had mostly subsided.
Seriously, I’m amazed at how much misinformation there is out there!
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Add Your Comment.
So Mom’s comfort is unimportant or even harmful when it comes to filling her with pitocin, confining her to bed, delivering on her back and cutting her perinium with scissors, but as soon as the birth is over and it’s time to feed the baby, the only thing that matters is comfort?
Heaven knows no one can cope with those few minutes of afterpains during the initial weeks following the birth. If you feed with formula, of course, your uterus NEVER CONTRACTS AGAIN and discomfort is only something you read about in cheap fiction. Thank heaven for modern science.
/sarcasm
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