# Breastfeeding during shots?



## crystal_buffaloe (Apr 30, 2010)

My 2 month old was vaccinated today (please no comments on that issue), and I'd planned to nurse her during the shots. The nurse who came in to give them said not to, and that the baby would associate nursing with the shots and be traumatized. I nursed her, slipped the nipple out of her mouth, she was given two shots, and then I immediately began nursing her again. She screamed and turned red when she got the shots, and then immediately calmed down (well, it took just a second for her to calm and latch), but she was fine as soon as she started nursing again.

Thoughts on this? Have any of you breastfed during shots of any kind? Was the nurse here way off base? Was maybe she just worried about getting a good angle to give the injection with the baby in a position other than laying on the examination table? Should I have been more insistent?


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## fruitfulmomma (Jun 8, 2002)

We don't vax, but yeah while it sounds like she was well meaning I think she was off base. I've always nursed during the nbs blood draw and it helps a lot. No traumitization that I am aware of, they all nursed for 2-4 years.


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## lalemma (Apr 21, 2009)

We vaccinate too! The nurse in our doctor's office said that she recommended against breastfeeding during the shots because a lot of healthy babies will do the short-sharp inhale thing, and could actually have a bit of milk go down the wrong way, which would make an unpleasant moment more unpleasant. Our baby does do the sharp-inhale thing, so that makes sense to me.


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## lifeguard (May 12, 2008)

I've always just held ds & been ready to offer him the breast immediately after the shot. I do think there is a chance for some babies to associate the pain with bfing & didn't want to take the chance however slim.


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## PatioGardener (Aug 11, 2007)

I nursed my little guy through his 2 month shots with no issues. Hopefully the 4 month ones will go as well.


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## momasana (Aug 24, 2007)

Nursing during shots, or any other medical procedure where it is possible, is one of the nicest things you can do for your baby. I do not believe that they will associate the pain with nursing, but rather appreciate the comfort from mama during a hard time.

We do not vax, but I nursed my baby through some blood draws and he didn't even flinch. When he was 2.5 I nursed him through a traumatic foot injury and it helped tremendously.

There is no reason a nurse shouldn't be able to give your baby a shot while he is in arms. If they insist on laying them on an exam table, lean over the table and nurse him that way.


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## cocoanib (May 14, 2009)

We don't vax, but I did nurse immediately after DD's pku blood draw.
I don't think that the baby would associate the shots with BFing, but maybe like the pp said, if they get upset they can inhale BM and choke on it.


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## Addie (Dec 19, 2009)

I've never nursed DS during his shots, but my ped encourages me to nurse immediately afterward. I usually sit ready to nurse and DH brings him to me as soon as the nurse is done. I'm not sure about the nurse's theory of associating nursing with pain - he's nursed how many hundreds of times, would that one instance of pain erase all those good associations?


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## bella99 (Sep 25, 2008)

Until my daughter weaned, every shot she has was while nursing.

She did not associate nursing with pain and didn't even come close to aspirating any milk. It helped her calm down.


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## spughy (Jun 28, 2005)

All the public health nurses here recommend nursing during vaccinations. I always did with my DD, never had any trauma.


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## texmati (Oct 19, 2004)

the nurse sounds full of it. Our nurses won't give shots while nursing just because it's not part of their MO. I figure since they are the ones with the pointy needles, they should feel comfortable. I'd have loved to nurse through it, but I just did before and after.


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## blessedwithboys (Dec 8, 2004)

i used to vaccinate. i always nursed ds1 while he was injected. if the nurse balked i would simply tell her there would be no shots that day and stand up and she would quickly rescind and go ahead and "let me" LOL

then i learned about how harmful vaccines are and i stopped doing them. ds1 didnt "finish" the schedule and ds2 is completely free of vaccines.

however, both of my kids have needed blood draws over the years. i ALWAYS use EMLA cream for that. i wish i had known about it when ds1 was still being vaxed. bfing helped him somewhat, but EMLA completely eliminates pain.

its a topical lidocaine cream. you get a rx from the ped ahead of time and apply the cream at home. it needs to be covered by a Tegaderm bandage so that the cream is completely occluded. it needs one hour to work most effectively.

the nurse will remove the bandage and wipe away the cream and give the shot.

make sure to put some on each leg when you are doing two sticks, that way you will know which vax caused a local reaction should one occur. if both go into one leg and something happens, you may not know which one caused it. of course, if its a more serious reaction, you still may not know, but as far as EMLA goes, it cant hurt to do a spot on each leg.

ime, i found i had to strongly advocate (read: DEMAND) either bfing or getting a rx for EMLA. i've had more than one dr refuse to rx the cream, which led me to firing them and getting a new dr.


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## Ninetales (Jan 25, 2009)

Before I decided not to vax, I nursed Elsa through the one shot I did allow. She made a little cry but went right back to nursing and was fine. The nurse thought it seemed like "a good idea."


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## Kellyh_01 (Apr 24, 2006)

I nursed during vaxes too. The baby would stop sucking for a moment and look up at me, obviously a little startled, then go right back to nursing - no crying at all. The nurse tried to talk me out of it too, saying that the baby might bite down when she poked him. I told her that it would be my nipple in his mouth, not hers, so she didn't need to worry about that. YOU are the mama - you don't need to ask if you can do it - you simply inform them that's what you're doing. They do it on your terms, or not at all.


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