2012-02-09T12:04:48.162-08:00

For lactation suppression (and prevention of engorgement), Dostinex has proven very effective and overall safe, with few adverse effects. It is a dopamine agonist that inhibits the secretion of prolactin. I believe it is available worldwide (in Europe it is).

Anyways, I wanted to say - this is a wonderful blog you have here, I have found a lot of support and interesting information in your articles. I am a woman who is contemplating the choice of not breast-feeding and wants all the facts before taking any definitive stance. I think the key to good parenting is knowing how to take care of both yourself and your child so that both are equally happy and healthy (physically and emotionally as well).

2010-01-09T16:37:10.733-08:00

Thanks for the comment on my article. It's refreshing to see a some moderation, and a critical eye, applied to this idea of breastfeeding as a preventative for breast cancer. It still amazes me how many people unthinkingly ferry along information and statistics without questioning how the data was compiled, calculated, and who is was funded by--no matter the subject.

2010-01-02T18:39:17.475-08:00

@Kate,

Actually, if you read the study, then there is an equal benefit to taking certain medications that dry up milk. These were taken off the market recently, so unfortunately women do not have the choice to take the risk of the side effects in order to get the breast-cancer fighting bennies. Also, as I stated in this post, the benefits of breastfeeding are linked to a certain, RARE type of breast cancer, so it certainly does not protect women from the more common types (or at least, that has yet to be proven).

I have seen numerous instances where breastfeeding advocates (not all, as I have been reminded lately and therefore want to make this important distinction, but a very vocal minority)have made overzealous and misleading statements regarding the perceived benefits of breastfeeding. I think this is potentially harmful, and I have definitely seen people celebrating breastmilk as a cure-all - which, if most laywomen do not have the proper education to read and understand all the medical jargon, can be taken as truth - especially when it comes from someone like a lactation consultant.

2010-01-02T18:10:30.574-08:00

I don't see the woman claiming that she was somehow immune from breast cancer as being a zealot. Uninformed? Yes. Zealot? That seems like a stretch. As with most medical headlines, very few people have the background to accurately interpret research, leading to simplifications and misunderstandings.

Medical research has shown a clear link between not-breastfeeding and higher rates of breast cancer. As with any medical study, it's impossible for anyone to take the findings and calculate how it will impact their individual health. I reject the notion of taking one woman's ignorance on a medical issue and expanding it into the idea that "breastfeeding zealots" are somehow going around convincing moms that breastfeeding is the cure all for any and all future medical problems.

Kate aka TheLactivista on Twitter

2009-10-28T12:57:29.442-07:00

Can't stop following your blog, it's too much of a comfort even with arrogant, know-it-all breastfeeders' comments, ha! BTW, YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS:

http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/archive/2009/06/01/they-say-formula-not-necessarily-fattening.aspx

(In case you haven't already.)

2009-10-27T06:20:39.090-07:00

Anonymous-

I am aware of that, actually- I almost went off on a tangent in my post about how these drugs are no longer available, but I opted not to as I thought the point I was making was more that as usual, a study had been overblown in such a way that could be misleading to women. I think it's like that children's game, "Telephone" - it gets altered through social media and muddled along the way.

As for the drugs, I think it is heartbreaking that your friends had to "dry up" like that under the circumstances. I was just pissed that I had to go through a pain worse than childbirth when I weaned... geesh, all I can say is thank god I hoarded Vicodan from an old oral surgery...I do find it a bit weird that they stopped prescibing these- I understand that the side effects were severe and I need to do some more research, but I wonder if there isn't a bit of bias going on in this decision as well... there are many drugs on the market that carry severe side effects for a small number of people, and they are still available. These drugs were used for years, and suddenly, right around the time that all this pressure to breastfeed came about, they became "too dangerous"?

Good thing I don't believe in conspiracy theories, or I'd be venturing into Long Gunman land here...

2009-10-27T04:58:50.748-07:00

I did want to point out that the drugs that have been used in the past to "dry up" breastmilk are NOT routinly used anymore. The drugs carried serious side effects and were not very effective. Also since they were mostly sulfur based drugs a lot of women were allergic to them.

So really that great point that you pointed out really doesn't hold water since those drugs are really not used anymore. I wish the person you were quoting did a little research!!

I have way to many friends who have suffered losses of a child and they had to "dry up" the old fashion way due to the drugs no longer being given by doctors.