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Tandem Nursing in Today's World
By Virginia Gilbert
Lactation Educator Fran Jaffe is also puzzled by the medical community's silence on the subject. Searching for an explanation, she suggests that doctors haven't had to develop a professional opinion because they perceive that so few women are actually tandem nursing.
In reality, many doctors don't have patients who practice tandem breastfeeding or consult their physicians if they do. Christine Collins, an OB-GYN with the Heldfond Medical Group in Los Angeles, states that, to her knowledge, none of her patients have nursed through pregnancy. However, Dr. Collins says she would support a healthy pregnant woman's decision to breastfeed. But she stresses that a number of conditions make it unwise for a pregnant woman to nurse; these include HIV infection, Cytomegalovirus, Hepatitis C and chronic Hepatitis B.
When asked what her colleagues think about tandem nursing, Dr. Collins said, "It is felt to be safe for the pregnancy." Citing her own opinion, Collins believes the practice is medically sound because it is performed widely in third world countries.