We first noticed that our daughter’s poop looked a little strange when she was two months old. It had taken on sort of a purplish hue. We took her to her pediatrician to test it, and discovered it contained blood.
I immediately eliminated dairy and soy from my diet, which helped at first, but the blood came back. Then I did block feeding to correct a possible foremilk/hindmilk imbalance, which helped at first, but the blood came back. Then I tried Dr. Sears’ Elimination Diet. Everything I tried seemed to work at first, but the blood always came back.
She was exclusively breastfed, and her pediatrician told us I had to switch to formula because she was allergic to my actual breastmilk. This immediately raised red flags for me. I know it’s not possible for a baby to be allergic to breastmilk – maybe to something in the breastmilk, but not the milk itself. I also had read that breastmilk is given to babies to fix GI problems. In addition, I knew of numerous health benefits of breastmilk, and the risks associated with formula. Why was her pediatrician so quick to want me to switch to formula? I went home feeling upset and confused, because I wanted to do what was best for our baby, but I also really wanted to breastfeed her, because I truly believed it was the best thing for her.
I sought a second opinion from another pediatrician, who told me that as long as our daughter was gaining weight and didn’t appear to be in pain, we wouldn’t do any permanent damage to her if I continued to breastfeed her while we spent more time trying to figure out what might be causing the blood.
Her regular pediatrician still continued to check up on her poop and still continued to urge us to switch to formula. I asked her many questions one day, including, “What happens if we switch her to formula and she continues to bleed? What if we had never noticed the blood – would she suffer permanent damage?” She didn’t have answers for me, and finally suggested that we take our daughter to a GI specialist.
I took her today. He tested two of her diapers, and found no blood. He said that unless you test the poop as soon as it comes out, you can get false positives for blood. This makes me wonder if there was ever blood in any of her poop, since we never tested them right after she pooped. He also said that even if there was blood, it is VERY common in infants, and they grow out of it. He said as long as she is gaining weight and is not fussy, she is fine. The doctor also said I could eliminate dairy and soy if I wanted, but that if my daughter was happy, I didn’t need to.
I am SO relieved that nothing is wrong, that I can continue to breastfeed with support from the GI specialist, and that there is no permanent damage being done to my daughter.
I am also VERY upset with her first pediatrician for trying to make us switch to formula. I realize she was probably giving us the best advice she had, but shouldn’t she be more informed? If I was able to find this information, shouldn’t she also be able to find the same research? Isn’t she aware that breastmilk is far superior for a baby’s health than formula? That breastmilk is best ESPECIALLY for a baby like ours, who appears to have a sensitive GI tract?
In doing my research I also discovered that many mothers struggle with this problem. Many moms discover blood in their child’s poop, are encouraged by a pediatrician to switch to formula, are even told it is the only option, and then wonder if they should do what the pediatrician says or do what their instincts tell them to do.
I feel sad for all of the babies who have been switched to formula under our first pediatrician’s care and are missing out on all the benefits of breastfeeding. I’m debating whether I should discuss my feelings with our current pediatrician or switch to the one we saw for a second opinion. I don’t want to make our first doctor feel like she is being attacked, but at the same time, I don’t want other babies to miss out on breastfeeding, or other mothers to feel like they are hurting their babies by breastfeeding them.
More than anything, however, I am so thankful that I trusted my own instincts and sought other opinions, and I encourage other mothers to do the same.