Re: Breastfeeding after a chest x-ray

[Guest guest]

I don't see why it would hurt the milk, but there's probably someone here who knows more than I do! Beebe, M.Ed., IBCLC Lactation Consultant/Postpartum Doula www.second9months.comBreastfeeding Between the Lines: http://second9months.wordpress.com/From: Robin To: Sent: Tuesday, October 4, 2011 8:53 PMSubject: Breastfeeding after a chest x-ray

Hi ladies,

I had a student in a prenatal breastfeeding class ask me what the protocol would be for breastfeeding her 2 month old baby after having chest x-rays. Is there a time period she needs to wait after the x-ray or will it not affect her milk at all?

Thanks!

Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLC

San Diego Breastfeeding Center

www.sdbfc.com

[Guest guest]

X-rays pass right through the body and are of no concern at all for breastfeeding. The concern comes when the radiation is *in* the body, such as when mother is given radioactive material for thyroid testing, etc. Then she is actually radioactive and the baby can be affected by being exposed to her.

Dee Kassing

Subject: Breastfeeding after a chest x-rayTo: Date: Tuesday, October 4, 2011, 10:53 PM

Hi ladies,I had a student in a prenatal breastfeeding class ask me what the protocol would be for breastfeeding her 2 month old baby after having chest x-rays. Is there a time period she needs to wait after the x-ray or will it not affect her milk at all? Thanks!Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLCSan Diego Breastfeeding Centerwww.sdbfc.com

[Guest guest]

And, by the way, when it's that sort of situation, it's not the breastfeeding.  It's the being within ten feet of mom.  A man I know had this type of treatment a few years ago, and it was almost humorous how inconvenient it was for his family as they had to clear a very wide path for him every where he went.  They were all grown and could handle it, but I couldn't imagine how hard it would be with young children.

Lynn

 

X-rays pass right through the body and are of no concern at all for breastfeeding.  The concern comes when the radiation is *in* the body, such as when mother is given radioactive material for thyroid testing, etc.  Then she is actually radioactive and the baby can be affected by being exposed to her.

    Dee Kassing

Subject: Breastfeeding after a chest x-ray

To: Date: Tuesday, October 4, 2011, 10:53 PM

 

Hi ladies,I had a student in a prenatal breastfeeding class ask me what the protocol would be for breastfeeding her 2 month old baby after having chest x-rays. Is there a time period she needs to wait after the x-ray or will it not affect her milk at all?

Thanks!Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLCSan Diego Breastfeeding Centerwww.sdbfc.com

[Guest guest]

See: http://www.kellymom.com/health/illness/

and related:

http://www.breastfeedingmaterials.com/news/radio-contrast-agents-and-breastfeedi\

ng-poster

Ellen Rubin, MA, IBCLC, LLLL

>

> Hi ladies,

>

> I had a student in a prenatal breastfeeding class ask me what the protocol

would be for breastfeeding her 2 month old baby after having chest x-rays. Is

there a time period she needs to wait after the x-ray or will it not affect her

milk at all?

>

> Thanks!

>

> Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLC

> San Diego Breastfeeding Center

> www.sdbfc.com

>

[Guest guest]

I don't know but I know they always kill it. they also kill it if there is hyperthyroidism that can't be controlled with meds. my vet even wanted to do it to my elderly cat, but didn't want him radioactive with my small kids... Beebe, M.Ed., IBCLC Lactation Consultant/Postpartum Doula www.second9months.comBreastfeeding Between the Lines: http://second9months.wordpress.com/From: Eden To: Sent: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 7:11 PMSubject: Re: Breastfeeding after a chest x-ray

I'm not a doctor.... why wouldn't they just surgically remove a cancerous thyroid?

Yes. Years ago, a mother of a nursing 2-yr-old had thyroid cancer and had the thyroid gland destroyed by having radiation implanted in it. The mother was emitting radiation and was not allowed to hug her children, hold them on her lap, sleep with them (they were a co-sleeping family), sit next to them to read a book to them, etc., etc. She kept pumping her milk with the hopes that her child would breastfeed again when it was safe. I wasn't sure that a child that old would come back to breast, though the child did ask every week if they could nurse. She had her milk tested once a month with a Geiger counter, and after six months, she was radiation free. Her toddler happily came back to breast and they nursed for several more years. But it wasn't just the breastmilk that was dangerous due

to radiation, it was

the mother herself.

Dee Kassing

Hi ladies,I had a student in a prenatal breastfeeding class ask me what the protocol would be for breastfeeding her 2 month old baby after having chest x-rays. Is there a time period she needs to wait after the x-ray or will it not affect her milk at all?

Thanks!Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLCSan Diego Breastfeeding Centerwww.sdbfc.com

-- Eden, BA, IBCLC, RLCLactation ConsultantAtlanta Breastfeeding Consultants, LLCwww.AtlantaBreastfeedingConsultants.com

(404)-590-MILK (6455)

[Guest guest]

Don't know, but I have heard of this type of treatment several times.

Dee

Hi ladies,I had a student in a prenatal breastfeeding class ask me what the protocol would be for breastfeeding her 2 month old baby after having chest x-rays. Is there a time period she needs to wait after the x-ray or will it not affect her milk at all? Thanks!Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLCSan Diego Breastfeeding Centerwww.sdbfc.com

-- Eden, BA, IBCLC, RLCLactation ConsultantAtlanta Breastfeeding Consultants, LLCwww.AtlantaBreastfeedingConsultants.com(404)-590-MILK (6455)

[Guest guest]

My guess is that it is somehow less invasive.  The thyroid has a strong affinity for radiation, which is why all those folks in Japan took iodine to fill it up and keep from absorbing the ambient radiation.  So it's an easy target, relatively speaking, and when the radiation degrades, the thyroid is kaput and nobody went under the knife.

Google tells me I'm in the ballpark   Only the thyroid absorbs iodine, so radioactive iodine will only go to the thyroid and cause no side effects anywhere else in the body.  It degrades quickly and the thyroid will be done making hormones completely in a few weeks.  Surgery can accidentally sever the nerve to the larynx (1% risk, which is pretty huge in my mind).

Lynn

 

Don't know, but I have heard of this type of treatment several times.

    Dee

Hi ladies,I had a student in a prenatal breastfeeding class ask me what the protocol would be for breastfeeding her 2 month old baby after having chest x-rays. Is there a time period she needs to wait after the x-ray or will it not affect her milk at all?

Thanks!Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLCSan Diego Breastfeeding Centerwww.sdbfc.com

-- Eden, BA, IBCLC, RLCLactation ConsultantAtlanta Breastfeeding Consultants, LLCwww.AtlantaBreastfeedingConsultants.com

(404)-590-MILK (6455)

[Guest guest]

It's funny that this should come up at this time! I have just had a wonderful

experience that I wanted to share with the group...

I have a client going through a bunch of testing incl xray, CT and now MRI.

Based on my info, she bf'd immed after the CT, and got into some trouble for

doing so. Then she was sched for an MRI and was given the blanket command, " pump

& dump for 48 hrs post-MRI " . I did some research for her, and asked her to find

out exactly what drug they would be administering (it matters: all radio

contrast media (dyes) are compatible w/ bfing, but some radioisotopes are not).

This proved to be beyond the medical staff's ability and she got a major

run-around (including being told that " it doesn't have a name but is organic " !

)

Eventually, in frustration, I called the clinic - it is a large multi-location

clinic here in Vancouver, WA, that serves the majority of the city. Amazingly, I

got through to the clinic supervisor of CT/MRI in person. I introduced myself as

a LC. He was very snobbish and tried to brush me off with the rote '48hr pump &

dump' thing, followed by 'we wouldn't want to harm babies, would we?!' (said in

an insulting way to me). When I mentioned reliable research showing that most

radio contrast media and radioisotopes ARE compatible with bf, he asked me for

the names of some which were. Fortunately, I had them at my fingertips, and

listed off about 6. Suddenly he started to treat me more respectfully. He was in

a hurry, but said that he'd contact me the next day after looking into the

matter. He would not let me send him my research findings.

The next day, I first got an excited call from my client who said that the

clinic had called her and said that as of that day (Tuesday 10/4/11), The

Vancouver Clinic had changed their policy and that it was now permitted to bf

immed after the tests.

I was SOOOOOO happy! I later chatted with the supervisor again, and he was very

friendly. He even offered to be a resource for other CT/MRI clinics in the area,

who might want to get his input (he said he is pretty well known in the field

locally). Usually we struggle so to inform the medical world about

breastfeeding, but because they don't realize how important it is, they just

dismiss us. But in this case, it had a dramatic and rapid result, and will

affect many, many bfing dyads. So rewarding!

Here is the research material, in case anyone else can use it:

A 2005 review published by the Members of Contrast Media Safety Committee of

European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) summarizes the extremely low

risk -

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve & db=pubmed & dopt=AbstractPlu\

s & list_uids=15609057 & query_hl=30 .

The American College of Radiology Committee on Drugs and Contrast Media gives a

reliable, reputable and succinct summary here:

http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/smd/Rad/CSIfaq/Breastfeeding.pdf.

The College of Family Physicians of Canada gives another excellent and even more

assured recommendation to not delay breastfeeding at all after CT or MRI:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1952588/

See comments from The Radiological Society of North America and the American

College of Radiology at http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=headmr.

Regarding radioisotopes that MAY not be compatible with breastfeeding: check

with the nuclear medicine department where your MRI is scheduled to find out

exactly which one will be used, then look it up in the US Nuclear Regulatory

Commission table.

For liver and gall bladder problems, the test is probably the HIDA/Hepatobiliary

scan, which usually uses Tc-99m DISIDA, and should NOT require any interruption

of breastfeeding (See the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission information on

Radiopharmaceuticals for Breastfeeding Patients:

http://neonatal.ttuhsc.edu/lact/radioactive.pdf ).

See also the excellent article here:

http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/radioisotopes.html which lists the specific

contrast media (dyes) used and their assessed safety level for use while

breastfeeding.

The National Library of Medicine's Toxnet (and LactMed within that) database is

a useful tool to check on individual drugs/agents by name:

http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?LACT.

And last but not least, the InfantRisk Center at the Texas Tech University

Health Sciences Center call center provides current, evidence-based information

to consumers and healthcare professionals - .

Sorry for the long post, but I had to share my excitement!

Fay Bosman, IBCLC

>

> Hi ladies,

>

> I had a student in a prenatal breastfeeding class ask me what the protocol

would be for breastfeeding her 2 month old baby after having chest x-rays. Is

there a time period she needs to wait after the x-ray or will it not affect her

milk at all?

>

> Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLC

[Guest guest]

Wow, Fay! What an incredible experience and how amazing for you to see the results of your hard work and dedication! I haven't posted much to the group, but just had to chime in and say, "Job well done!" I hope someday I can follow in your footsteps!

Tatiana Indrisek, IBCLCwww.mamasmilkandmore.comLoving Support for Pregnancy, Birth and Breastfeeding

It's funny that this should come up at this time! I have just had a wonderful experience that I wanted to share with the group...

I have a client going through a bunch of testing incl xray, CT and now MRI. Based on my info, she bf'd immed after the CT, and got into some trouble for doing so. Then she was sched for an MRI and was given the blanket command, "pump & dump for 48 hrs post-MRI". I did some research for her, and asked her to find out exactly what drug they would be administering (it matters: all radio contrast media (dyes) are compatible w/ bfing, but some radioisotopes are not). This proved to be beyond the medical staff's ability and she got a major run-around (including being told that "it doesn't have a name but is organic"! )

Eventually, in frustration, I called the clinic - it is a large multi-location clinic here in Vancouver, WA, that serves the majority of the city. Amazingly, I got through to the clinic supervisor of CT/MRI in person. I introduced myself as a LC. He was very snobbish and tried to brush me off with the rote '48hr pump & dump' thing, followed by 'we wouldn't want to harm babies, would we?!' (said in an insulting way to me). When I mentioned reliable research showing that most radio contrast media and radioisotopes ARE compatible with bf, he asked me for the names of some which were. Fortunately, I had them at my fingertips, and listed off about 6. Suddenly he started to treat me more respectfully. He was in a hurry, but said that he'd contact me the next day after looking into the matter. He would not let me send him my research findings.

The next day, I first got an excited call from my client who said that the clinic had called her and said that as of that day (Tuesday 10/4/11), The Vancouver Clinic had changed their policy and that it was now permitted to bf immed after the tests.

I was SOOOOOO happy! I later chatted with the supervisor again, and he was very friendly. He even offered to be a resource for other CT/MRI clinics in the area, who might want to get his input (he said he is pretty well known in the field locally). Usually we struggle so to inform the medical world about breastfeeding, but because they don't realize how important it is, they just dismiss us. But in this case, it had a dramatic and rapid result, and will affect many, many bfing dyads. So rewarding!

Here is the research material, in case anyone else can use it:

A 2005 review published by the Members of Contrast Media Safety Committee of European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) summarizes the extremely low risk - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve & db=pubmed & dopt=AbstractPlus & list_uids=15609057 & query_hl=30 .

The American College of Radiology Committee on Drugs and Contrast Media gives a reliable, reputable and succinct summary here: http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/smd/Rad/CSIfaq/Breastfeeding.pdf.

The College of Family Physicians of Canada gives another excellent and even more assured recommendation to not delay breastfeeding at all after CT or MRI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1952588/

See comments from The Radiological Society of North America and the American College of Radiology at http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=headmr.

Regarding radioisotopes that MAY not be compatible with breastfeeding: check with the nuclear medicine department where your MRI is scheduled to find out exactly which one will be used, then look it up in the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission table.

For liver and gall bladder problems, the test is probably the HIDA/Hepatobiliary scan, which usually uses Tc-99m DISIDA, and should NOT require any interruption of breastfeeding (See the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission information on Radiopharmaceuticals for Breastfeeding Patients: http://neonatal.ttuhsc.edu/lact/radioactive.pdf ).

See also the excellent article here: http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/radioisotopes.html which lists the specific contrast media (dyes) used and their assessed safety level for use while breastfeeding.

The National Library of Medicine's Toxnet (and LactMed within that) database is a useful tool to check on individual drugs/agents by name: http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?LACT.

And last but not least, the InfantRisk Center at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center call center provides current, evidence-based information to consumers and healthcare professionals - .

Sorry for the long post, but I had to share my excitement!

Fay Bosman, IBCLC

[Guest guest]

,

Im not a doctor either but I think and corect me if Im wrong girls. Thyroid

glands are blasted rather than removed due to their location and it would not be

possible to fully remove without causing too much damage to the surrounding

tissues of the windpipe.

Yours ........ Vikki Kidd, Ontario

> >

> >

> > From: Robin

<robinkaplan1@...<http://us.mc818.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=robinkaplan1@...>

> > >

> >

> > Hi ladies,

> >

> > I had a student in a prenatal breastfeeding class ask me what the protocol

> > would be for breastfeeding her 2 month old baby after having chest x-rays.

> > Is there a time period she needs to wait after the x-ray or will it not

> > affect her milk at all?

> >

> > Thanks!

> >

> > Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLC

> > San Diego Breastfeeding Center

> > www.sdbfc.com

> >

> >

> >

>

>

>

> --

> Eden, BA, IBCLC, RLC

> Lactation Consultant

> Atlanta Breastfeeding Consultants, LLC

> www.AtlantaBreastfeedingConsultants.com

> (404)-590-MILK (6455)

>

[Guest guest]

My sister had thyroid cancer so I know a little about it.  But I am not a doctor.  What I understood, from the surgeon’s explanation, is that they do remove the thyroid (in my sister’s case anyway) but the tumor tissue can invade other surrounding locations in very small cells of cancerous cells. Afterwards, these cancer cells could grow and the cancer come back. Since the cancer cells are of the same nature as the thyroid, they are very sensitive to radioactive iodine. So they give radioactive iodine to the patient to kill all the possibly remaining cancer tissue thus ridding the patient from any remaining cancerous cells. My sister was very radioactive for a while. We had to stay away from her at the hospital (I don’t remember the exact distance but I do remember that we could not enter her room) and she could not be around children for a long time. Fortunately, at the time, she did not yet have children of her own. Hope this helps and that it is accurate enough. Ghislaine Reid, BA (Translation 1981), LLL (1990), IBCLC(2002)Montreal, Quebec, Canada De : [mailto: ] De la part de BeebeEnvoyé : 5 octobre 2011 22:22À : Objet : Re: Breastfeeding after a chest x-ray I don't know but I know they always kill it. they also kill it if there is hyperthyroidism that can't be controlled with meds. my vet even wanted to do it to my elderly cat, but didn't want him radioactive with my small kids... Beebe, M.Ed., IBCLC Lactation Consultant/Postpartum Doula www.second9months.comBreastfeeding Between the Lines: http://second9months.wordpress.com/ From: Eden To: Sent: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 7:11 PMSubject: Re: Breastfeeding after a chest x-ray I'm not a doctor.... why wouldn't they just surgically remove a cancerous thyroid? Yes. Years ago, a mother of a nursing 2-yr-old had thyroid cancer and had the thyroid gland destroyed by having radiation implanted in it. The mother was emitting radiation and was not allowed to hug her children, hold them on her lap, sleep with them (they were a co-sleeping family), sit next to them to read a book to them, etc., etc. She kept pumping her milk with the hopes that her child would breastfeed again when it was safe. I wasn't sure that a child that old would come back to breast, though the child did ask every week if they could nurse. She had her milk tested once a month with a Geiger counter, and after six months, she was radiation free. Her toddler happily came back to breast and they nursed for several more years. But it wasn't just the breastmilk that was dangerous due to radiation, it was the mother herself. Dee Kassing Hi ladies,I had a student in a prenatal breastfeeding class ask me what the protocol would be for breastfeeding her 2 month old baby after having chest x-rays. Is there a time period she needs to wait after the x-ray or will it not affect her milk at all? Thanks!Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLCSan Diego Breastfeeding Centerwww.sdbfc.com-- Eden, BA, IBCLC, RLCLactation ConsultantAtlanta Breastfeeding Consultants, LLCwww.AtlantaBreastfeedingConsultants.com(404)-590-MILK (6455)

[Guest guest]



Yes, (not a doctor either, of course), I believe that you're right. The radioactive substance is to target any cancerous cells that may be left behind even if the thyroid has been removed. Similar to chemo after mastectomy.

A friend had this surgery and treatment when her baby was 6 months old. It was traumatic.

Re: Breastfeeding after a chest x-ray

I'm not a doctor.... why wouldn't they just surgically remove a cancerous thyroid?

Yes. Years ago, a mother of a nursing 2-yr-old had thyroid cancer and had the thyroid gland destroyed by having radiation implanted in it. The mother was emitting radiation and was not allowed to hug her children, hold them on her lap, sleep with them (they were a co-sleeping family), sit next to them to read a book to them, etc., etc. She kept pumping her milk with the hopes that her child would breastfeed again when it was safe. I wasn't sure that a child that old would come back to breast, though the child did ask every week if they could nurse. She had her milk tested once a month with a Geiger counter, and after six months, she was radiation free. Her toddler happily came back to breast and they nursed for several more years. But it wasn't just the breastmilk that was dangerous due to radiation, it was the mother herself.

Dee Kassing

Hi ladies,I had a student in a prenatal breastfeeding class ask me what the protocol would be for breastfeeding her 2 month old baby after having chest x-rays. Is there a time period she needs to wait after the x-ray or will it not affect her milk at all? Thanks!Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLCSan Diego Breastfeeding Centerwww.sdbfc.com

-- Eden, BA, IBCLC, RLCLactation ConsultantAtlanta Breastfeeding Consultants, LLCwww.AtlantaBreastfeedingConsultants.com(404)-590-MILK (6455)

[Guest guest]

So interesting. I'll have to discuss with my friend who is a pediatrician- would be vet limiting to her work if she could not be around children for an extended period. Sent from my iPhone



Yes, (not a doctor either, of course), I believe that you're right. The radioactive substance is to target any cancerous cells that may be left behind even if the thyroid has been removed. Similar to chemo after mastectomy.

A friend had this surgery and treatment when her baby was 6 months old. It was traumatic.

Re: Breastfeeding after a chest x-ray

I'm not a doctor.... why wouldn't they just surgically remove a cancerous thyroid?

Yes. Years ago, a mother of a nursing 2-yr-old had thyroid cancer and had the thyroid gland destroyed by having radiation implanted in it. The mother was emitting radiation and was not allowed to hug her children, hold them on her lap, sleep with them (they were a co-sleeping family), sit next to them to read a book to them, etc., etc. She kept pumping her milk with the hopes that her child would breastfeed again when it was safe. I wasn't sure that a child that old would come back to breast, though the child did ask every week if they could nurse. She had her milk tested once a month with a Geiger counter, and after six months, she was radiation free. Her toddler happily came back to breast and they nursed for several more years. But it wasn't just the breastmilk that was dangerous due to radiation, it was the mother herself.

Dee Kassing

Hi ladies,I had a student in a prenatal breastfeeding class ask me what the protocol would be for breastfeeding her 2 month old baby after having chest x-rays. Is there a time period she needs to wait after the x-ray or will it not affect her milk at all? Thanks!Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLCSan Diego Breastfeeding Centerwww.sdbfc.com

-- Eden, BA, IBCLC, RLCLactation ConsultantAtlanta Breastfeeding Consultants, LLCwww.AtlantaBreastfeedingConsultants.com(404)-590-MILK (6455)