Stubborn Thrush Meets Stubborn Mother
By Marie Zahorick
Romeoville, IL USA
From: NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 15 No. 5, September-October 1998,
pp. 139-40
We provide articles
from our publications from previous years for reference for our Leaders and
members. Readers are cautioned to remember that research and medical information
change over time
By the time my son, James,
was born, I thought I was prepared for almost anything. Nine months
of advice from well-meaning friends and relatives, as well as extensive
reading on my own helped me deal with several obstacles I encountered
as I tried to breastfeed. These included flat nipples, newborn jaundice,
and nipple confusion. My greatest challenge, however, came from something
I had never heard of - thrush, a yeast infection in the breast.
In the first two weeks of
his life, I was pumping my milk and feeding James with a syringe and
medicine dropper. He had been able to latch on successfully only three
or four times, and only after an average of forty-five minutes of coaxing
from me, my mother, and two lactation consultants from the hospital.
I was even given a nipple shield as a last resort. In addition, I developed
milk blisters, white patches on my nipples, and shooting pains that
felt like hot needles stabbing into my breasts. My nipples were so sore
that even using my breast pump was painful. I didn't attempt to breastfeed
James for several days because my nipples and breasts hurt for several
hours after a nursing session. In the evenings, I sat in the bathtub
and cried because I was in so much pain and I thought nothing could
help me. I was also exhausted from getting up several times in the middle
of the night to pump, wash the pump parts, and feed James by eye dropper,
which was often very frustrating for James, me, and my husband, Don.
In desperation, I called
LLLI for help. They gave me the phone number of Colleen, a local Leader.
She was very sympathetic and calming when I talked to her on the phone.
Luckily, there was a Series Meeting scheduled the very next day.
It was very difficult to
go to that first meeting and see all the other babies nursing successfully.
James started to cry because he was hungry, but I was embarrassed to
get out his bottle and medicine dropper. I looked at my little baby
and started to cry because I felt that I was a failure and nobody could
help me.
One of the other Leaders
in the Group, Janet, reassured me and listened to my numerous problems.
She showed me how to cup-feed James to avoid further nipple confusion.
She told me I probably had a thrush infection that had grown in the
milk ducts, resulting in those stabbing pains. We traced the thrush
back to the antibiotics I had been given in the hospital following a
fever. These antibiotics killed the beneficial bacteria that would normally
keep the yeast organisms in check. Since I was prone to yeast infections
anyway, thrush was almost inevitable. Everyone at the meeting was very
supportive and commended me for sticking with my attempts to breastfeed.
They helped me to see that resorting to pumping my milk in the interim
did not mean that I had failed.
Over the next weeks, with
Janet's help, I tried several thrush remedies, ranging from an old standby,
gentian violet, to new pharmaceuticals. I eliminated yeast, sugar, and
dairy products from my diet for a month. I took acidophilus pills from
the health food store to help bring the yeast organisms under control.
Just as my pain was decreasing, I developed bacterial mastitis. It was
a double blow. With a 102 degree fever, I had to take antibiotics. They
not only worsened the thrush, but also meant I had to stop taking the
medication for thrush because the medicines were incompatible with each
other. Within a day, my nipples were covered in the characteristic white
patches of thrush. While I was taking the antibiotic, I used gentian
violet on my nipples to help keep the thrush from worsening. I applied
it to my nipples with a cotton swab. It stained my nipples and clothing
a deep purple. My pumped milk was a lovely shade of lavender, which
also stained James's mouth. He looked as if he had been eating blueberries!
Once, when I was very discouraged
and considering weaning James, I called Karen, another Leader from the
Group. I felt embarrassed to bring up the subject of weaning, so I told
her I was calling to see if the meeting was still the next day. She
told me it was and asked how I was doing. We talked for almost an hour
and she said, "Whatever you decide to do, I will support you totally."
I already felt better after talking to her and decided to keep breastfeeding
James. I finally was able to finish my course of medication for thrush
which eliminated a good deal of the pain. After several weeks of careful
hygiene and diet, the thrush overgrowth cleared up. I began breastfeeding
James more often and cutting back on pumping milk. Finally, after two
long months, I was breastfeeding James without any artificial devices!
I would have weaned James
without all the support from my husband, Don, wonderful family members,
and my friends from La Leche League. Karen told me something that really
struck a chord with me. She said, "Just think of how your experiences
might help another mother some day because you've been there too."
I tried to remember that
statement whenever I was discouraged. I was sticking with it not only
for my baby, but for myself, and maybe even for other women who might
benefit from hearing about my experience. Looking back at those first
two months of James's life, I am very proud of myself for my tenacity
in continuing breastfeeding. As my family will tell you, I am not usually
so stubborn, but I am so glad I was. James is now eighteen months old
and is still nursing. He is one of the healthiest kids around. Breastfeeding
has made both of us stronger, and I am grateful to LLL and everyone
who helped us.
Last updated 11/12/06 by jlm.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:29:58 UTC 2007.
