Has anyone ever heard of this?

876 Views 13 Replies 10 Participants Last post by AJP, Aug 18, 2006

MarcyC

Discussion Starter · Aug 17, 2006

I have a friend who has suffered from several miscarriages. As it turns out, she has a condition where her body "attacks" the fetus and treats it as a leach, rather than nourishing it. She finally was able to carry a baby to term and she bf'd, but she was sick the entire time she was BF'ing. I mean sick to the point where some days she couldn't get out of bed. She seemed susceptible to everything going around. She felt lousy, at best. She loved her baby and was happy to be a mom, but something was definitely wrong. She even took anti-depressants thinking that was what was wrong, but they didn't help.

She wound up nursing her son until he was 2

and as she began to wean, she also began feeling better.

Well, in her quest to possibly try to have another baby she has visited several specialists. One told her that the problem she had while BF'ing was because her hormones weren't returning to normal and her body still thought it had to "attack" something. (basic laymans terms)

He told her she *might* be better off if she doesn't BF the next baby. Anyone ever heard of this? I totally forget the name of the condition. She told me, but I forgot...

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AmandaBL

· #2 · Aug 17, 2006

I have not, but I will forward this link to other BF wise mamas I know & if they are more educated than I, they will report back.

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frontierpsych

· #3 · Aug 17, 2006

I've heard of this, but did not know it could affect nursing. Hopefully she can find a way to get her body to work with her instead of against her!

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RolliePollie

· #4 · Aug 17, 2006

I have a friend who delivered her baby at 32 weeks due to a condition called Thrombophilia. She described it as being a condition that causes her body to reject her placenta. I'm not sure if we are on the same page though. However, she tried for several months to breastfeed but couldn't (probably due to the length of time her baby was in the nicu).

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lissabob

· #5 · Aug 17, 2006

I have NO clue on the bfing front, but a former co-worker of mine had this and ended up never being able to carry to term because of it. VERY sad.

: She had it before it was well known, and endured many m/c's because of it. Made her VERY protective of me when I was preggo.

: Very sweet lady. Anyways, I hope the mom is able to find some way to make it work.

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frenchie

· #6 · Aug 17, 2006

Yes, and yes. I didn't know the momma that was sick while bfing, she was a friend of a friend. I don't know what ever happened, but I just remember hearing about it. As for the first part, I've had a couple of friends with that issue. A close frined of mine had several miscariages before they figured out what was happening. She hd to take a couple shots in her belly, daily, for the entire pregnancy.

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moonfirefaery

· #7 · Aug 18, 2006

This should not in and of itself affect a breastfeeding relationship to my knowledge.

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frontierpsych

· #8 · Aug 18, 2006

well in any case it seems it has, but i'm hoping she'll be able to work through it.

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moonfirefaery

· #9 · Aug 18, 2006

I mean physically it shouldn't. The breastmilk wouldn't attack the baby. I can understand where breastfeeding might be a lot more difficult in her situation, but I don't think the RH factor physically has a lot of effect on breastfeeding. I'm just saying, I think. I don't know for sure.

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mamanurse

· #10 · Aug 18, 2006

I don't think this is an Rh factor problem. It sounds like an autoimmune disorder. I have lupus and this is a somewhat common problem in women with lupus (the "attacking" the embryo/fetus part). I know nothing about the bf aspect of this, but it would be an excellent question for an IBCLC that would have time to do a little research.

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frontierpsych

· #11 · Aug 18, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonfirefaery
I mean physically it shouldn't. The breastmilk wouldn't attack the baby. I can understand where breastfeeding might be a lot more difficult in her situation, but I don't think the RH factor physically has a lot of effect on breastfeeding. I'm just saying, I think. I don't know for sure.

okay, no, the breastmilk would not attack the baby. I'm hoping maybe she could find some anti-depressents that worked, or maybe something that would help her body to not attack her hormones. I can't imagine going through two years of ppd in order to breastfeed, so as indespensible as I believe breastfeeding is, I can't say what I'd do in her situation.

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moonfirefaery

· #12 · Aug 18, 2006

Ah, ok. gotcha. It's the antidepressants, not the RH thing. I was a little like...wah? For a second. I can't imagine 2 years of PPD either. I think it's better for my son to have a healthy loving mom to care for him than to have breastmilk. I think in the longrun having me healthyis going to do a lot more for him. I probably, if I couldn't find any antidepressants that worked for me, go with formula or wetnursing if possible, though I haven't the faintest idea how to find a wetnurse!

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DocsNemesis

· #13 · Aug 18, 2006

I have no idea. My friend has the exact same problem and she pumped for her boys for about 4 months (they were preemies to) but she didnt feel sick.
I would say that she should breastfeed at least at first. If she still feels miserable, try to get some help for it...see a specialist if she needs to. If all else fails she can still feel good about the baby get the best milk in the begining.

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AJP

· #14 · Aug 18, 2006

I don't know about this specific condition, but I'd say it's very important for her to get her hormones in order before TTC. She should chart her cycles (she should have the books Garden of Fertility or Taking Charge of Your Fertility) if she isn't already, and examine things like her diet and thyroid function. If she was previously on hormonal contraceptives, there could be damage from that http://www.westonaprice.org/women/reprod-health.html . If the hormones in her body while lactating make her sick, things are probably seriously out of whack. I would say that she should make figuring out why it happened and fixing it if possible her #1 priority, for her own health as well as any future babies.

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