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Breastfeeding with Multiple Sclerosis: A new mom's perspective
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Baby Sellers in his incubator.
There is never any easy decision when it comes to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) because the disease is unpredictable. Want to save some money and go with a cheaper medication? Go off the medication to get pregnant? Stay off the medication to breastfeed? For most adults choosing whether or not to breastfeed or use a generic medication are relatively simple decisions. For a person with MS and their family they can be agonizing.
My plan was to go back on MS medication a week after delivering my baby. My neurologist, family and I agreed that the ability to care for the baby was of the highest importance. A relapse could make that impossible. Life often does not follow our well made plans and this situation was no different.
Born 10 weeks premature, at 2 lbs 13 oz., my son had 2 surgeries before he was 12 weeks old. He lived in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for the first 12 weeks of his life. The doctors and nurses were his world, not me, and that was heart wrenching. Preemies need to be alone in their incubators to finish growing, away from overly stimulating snuggles, even from me.
One of his many doctors was adamant that mothers' milk was 'liquid gold'. The one thing that only I could provide were some much needed nutrients through breast milk. Stress can aggravate any illness and choosing to breastfeed regardless of the common recommendation was partly based on relieving my stress in this situation.
I did not decide to breastfeed under these circumstances blindly. My neurologist gave her blessing after explaining the situation. Some Internet research yielded a preliminary study that showed promising results for breastfeeding with MS. Finally, my husband and I decided the best course for our family was to breastfeed until my son came home from the NICU. 7 months later I've had no relapses and my beautiful baby boy is home healthy.
The research being done with MS is astounding. There is nothing you can do about your past and the future will always to be unknown. Don't passively accept your circumstances: be in control of your present.
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