Who is it here who is a midwife? Because I have a question...

I need to know if this is true...

Ok my fiance and I don't have kids yet but they are definately in our future. Everyone who knows us knows that we will be raising our kids as vegans, will NOT be sending them to public school, and will be co-sleeping. They know I plan to breast feed and wean the children when they are ready. The people we know and love know that we know the facts about these things and respect our intelligence enough to realize that we know what we are talking about. But when I brought up the fact that I will be giving birth at home with a midwife, I was met with less than the support I thought I would get.



I was told that because I have asthma and a heart murmur that I can't give birth at home and that in fact it would be illegal for me to! I was told that I would have to have a hospital birth, epidural, and most likely a C-section. I don't think that this is fair as it is not what I want. Is any of this true? If not, would I still need to take special precautions during a homebirth?



Also. someone told me that if I wanted to breast feed I'd have to stop taking my medications. Is this true?

 

WHO told you this stuff? Brighid is our resident midwife, but you would have to be examined and have a history taken before anyone would know if you are a candidate for a home birth.

I can help you with the meds. MOST meds are completely safe during breastfeeding (a hell of a lot safer than that stuff in a can!) If you want to PM with the names of your meds, I can give you detailed info, (you can post them, if you feel comfortable, and maybe if other womyn are on the same meds they will see it) but if you are more comfortable just PMing me, that is fine. I have treated HUNDREDS of mamas with asthma, and none of them ever had to go off of any of their meds and nursed as long as their babies wanted to. FEW medications are contraindicated during breastfeeding.

Brighid can answer some questions about the actual pregnancy, (but you will need to be seen when pregnant for details.)

Send me the names of your meds, and I can help you out. I think it is really responsible that you are looking into this now! Kudos. I have mothers calling me the day they get home from the hosptial with the baby, going off their meds (or weaning) because some imbicile in the hosptial looked up their meds in the PDR (NOT a breastfeeding friendly book, nor is the lactation info science based) and told them their drugs were "dangerous."

Almost all asthma and heart medicaitons are safe. Just PM me or post them here.

Blessings.

 

The mom of a friend of ours said it! She said that I shouldn't even have kids because child birth could kill me!

The heart murmur is caused by mitral valve prolapse. Currently, they have me on Tambocor (aka Flecainide). For the asthma I take Advair. I also take tons of over the counter allergy medicine.



I am also weaning myself off of Loritab and Valium. It’s hard though!

 

Tambocor: "Drug Usually Compatible with Breastfeeding" The average plasma level in milk will not exceed 62 millions of a gram per mililiter of milk. This is well below the theraputic level for treating infants of 360 millionths of a gram per ML of blood.


Advair: made from fluticasone: When inhaled, less than 2% of the drug is bioavailable (meaning the drug isn't usable by your or the baby's body outside of your lungs) Dose in breastmilk is less than 0.05% of the mother's dosage. Basically undetectable.

and Salmeterol: between 200-85 billionth of a gram per milliliter of milk, usually totally undetectable.

Lortab (Hydrocodone and APAP) "It is commonly used by breastfeeding mothers throughout the USA, Most authors suggest that doses of 5mg every 4 hours will have minimal to no effect on the infant." Most women are given this drug after childbirth. It is a opiate and has a large molecular structure, which is difficult to pass into milk. If the molecule is too large to get much into the milk, the baby gets little to none of it. Doses should be watched by a doctor. Baby may be observed for sedation, but this is rarely if ever seen.

Valium: APP, "Drug whose effect on nursing infants is unknown, but may be of concern." It may accumulate in baby, if mother is on chronic doses, (single doses are not seen as a problem in older babies) causing lethargy, suckling difficulties and sedation. Not the best drug for a nursing mother to be taking, and the only one I would personally be concerned about. Hale recommends only occasional use of benzodiazepines and using the shorter acting drugs, like Xanax when needed, as they don't accumulate in the baby's body as seriously.

IMO, for breastfeeding, the only drug I would be concerned about would be the Valium. The others are totally compatible with breastfeeding, and are not known to cause problems in the nursing infant.

For pregnancy, I would talk to your OBGYN or midwife. Pregnancy isn't my specialty. (I took Hydro when I was pregnant for a chronic pain disorder, we watched my dose, and Sage was absolutely fine (as they thought she would be) with no tolerance, dependence or respiratory problems.)

Good luck, Honey! I am really glad you are looking into this now.

References from Medication and Mothers Milk. By Thomas Hale Ph.D and other sources and medical studies.

 

I hate when totally ignorant people give medical advice, and have NO IDEA what they are talking about, and no training or references for their "advice."

For the future, sweetie, I don't ever share what meds I am on with most people. People are ignorant about medications, in general, and tend to be even more ignorant about meds in pregnancy and breastfeeding. DON'T SHARE your info with people who will tell you stupid things. When I was pregnant and lactating with Sage NO ONE but my dh and my best friend and a midwife friend (of course my doctors knew) and the people in my migraine support group knew I was being treated for a chronic pain disorder. I didn't need "Reader's Digest Style" advice, so I didn't share any info. Not my mom, my aunts or most of my freinds, even.

This is YOUR life, and you have the right to privacy. Take care of yourself, and don't let scary people like your mother's friend scare you with uneducated garbage.

And people who have the opinion "You shouldn't have any children" should be tossed out with the trash! When I got pregnant with Sage a womyn who is now an exfriend told me "You should have an abortion, because you are too old, and you'll probably have one of those Mongoloid babies who will be a drain on society." Sheesh, out with the trash! It is NO ONE'S business but yours and your partner's if you want to have children.

Blessings.

 

Neither asthma or mitral valve prolapse is of much concern in usual conditions, BUT, you are on meds for it, which means you had a recent infarction? If not, why are you on Tombacor?


How often are you using your asthma meds?

You're very smart to prepare yourself before you become pregnant. There's little reason why, when you take care of your health issues, you won't be able to have a home birth. You're prenatal care will most likely be monitored by both yur midwife and cardiologist, and will be constantly evaluated. As long as both your asthma and MVP remain asymptomatic, you will more than likely be a good candidate for a home birth. In fact, sometimes the hypervolemia (increased blood volume) of pregnancy improvs MVP, by putting more pressure on the valve, it sort of knocks it into a better position.

I would strongly recommend you begin seeing a chiropractor for the asthma, and also a doctor of Chinese medicine or a naturopath to get yourself into optimal condition for pregnancy and birth. You do have several health issues that need to be addressed, (of course, you know that) ideally before you become pregnant. There are quite a few experienced midwives in your area, make an appointment to see one or two for preconception counseling.

good luck, and be well.

 

Sorry I didn't respond to this sooner.


They put me on the Tombacor because I was close to having an infarction, at least that is what they said. I trust that the doctor knows what he is doing. After all, he is the one with the medical degree. I wish I was not taking so many meds though. I feel bad about it because even though I realize that we can't control everything, I try to live my life as naturally as possible, and being on all of these pills isn't very natural. Also, using all of them over so much time is causing some problems with my stomach.

You'll have to tell me more about going to a chiropractor for asthma. No one ever told me that that would help!

 

Maggie, before I became pregnant I was taking Lamictal for a mood disorder. It's actually an anti-epileptic drug but they've found it works well for the depression aspect of bipolar disorder. (Of which I have a very mild form.) I quit taking like an idiot the vacation I got pregnant, but I'm glad I did because it may cause defects in a developing fetus. My baby is fine. So far during my pregnancy I've been pretty stable, in fact much more stable then I've ever been in my life. I think it's the hormones. I'm worried though that when the baby is born I'll start swinging again and I want to be prepared to go on my meds right away. Do you know anything about Lamictal and breastfeeding?? I REALLY want to breastfeed as long as he wants but, if I'm an unstable mama, I would have to put him on formula so I can take care of him properly.

 

Lactimal is a "Drug whose effect on nursing infants is unknown but may be of concern." (The American Academy of Pediatrics.) The amounts in milk vary, and tend to decrease with time, but are still near the theraputic range (meaning the baby is getting a dose through milk which can be similar to, but is usually lower than, what the mother has in her blood.) Some studies found the mother's serum levels were 9.61 millions of a gram per ML, the infant's serum (while breastfeeding) levels were 2.25 millions of a gram per ML . The mother continued to take the medication and breastfeed and the study goes on to say "The infant developed normally in every way." This mother was taking 200-300 mgs of the drug per day.

An other study found that with a dosage of 200-300 mgs a day in the mother the dose to the infant, through her milk would be approximately .5 (point five) mgs per kg of body weight per day. It was suggested that although the infants in this study were all developing normally, periodic monitoring of the infant for plasma levels of lamotrigine was suggested.

There were two more studies, with similar results, in no study were any adverse effects on the infant found.

Dr. Thomas Hale (pharmocologist and lactation expert at Texas Tech and the most well respected person in this field) suggests, if the mother or her doctor do not want to use this drug that there are similar drugs which reach the milk in lower concentrations. Verapamil is similar, and enters the milk in extrememly low amounts, but should not be taken close to delivery, as it can effect the ability of the uterus to contract. (But is find for breastfeeding after delivery.) Also, Valproic Acid (Depakote) is a "is gaining favor as a first line treatment for (mood disorders) and also because it has a broader index of saftey than lithium (and some other drugs)." Periodic liver function tests of mother and baby are recommended. (I was suggested this drug, while breastfeeding, for migraine control, but had already tried it, and it was not effective for my migraines, but it has a wonderful control spectrum for mood disorders!) Klonopin is also useful for some. It is a benzodiazpine, but works slightly differently than other benzos. It has is usually safe in both pregnancy and breastfeeding, as long as both mother and baby are monitored.

As with all things, using the info to make your own choice is always the best idea.

 

Maybe try unassisted birth. Or just tell people that you are doing that who said it was illegal and then see what they say.

Blessings
Francine

 

And Maggie, I'm with you with the 'out with the trash' statement. Just brings up so many vivid and justifiable images. I've had many enter my life as I became pregnant....Out with the TRASH!!!!!

Namaste
Francine