Calling all mothers who bottle fed their babies
There is a minor discussion going on under the BritMeds about "lactation consultants". It deserves a more public airing.
Proposition
Mothers who decide to bottle feed their babies are not second-class mothersOne of the many things I hated about madwifes (by which I mean the lunatic midwifes, not the kind and caring ones) is the way they treat mothers who decide to bottle feed their babies as failures. Some post-natal wards have "breast-feeding" rooms. The bottle feeding mothers have to make do in the corridor. Even more infuriating is the latest bit of nurse-specialist twaddle, the "lactation consultant". In an excellent and entertaining post, Two weeks on a Trolley described the gratuitous activities of these supernumeray twerps:
The subject of my whineing on his paricular run of nights is the rather grandly named "lactation consultant" who visits our neonatal unit on occasion. Now, I'm not sure what exactly a "lactation consultant" does. I know she wears a power suit and talks to mums about breast feeding. I'm not 100% sure why we need her. She looks expensive.... Two weeks on a TrolleyI think it is reasonable to point out the benefits of breast feeding to all pregnant women. But after that it is their choice. Just as it should be their choice as to whether or not they have an epidural. Some mothers do not wish to breast feed. So be it. That does not mean they are bad mothers and the exercise of their choice does not justify the attacks to which they are subjected by proselytising "lactation consultants". And pity the poor mother who has an epidural and then elects to bottle feed. She is likely to be bullied and persecuted.
If there are any mothers out there who chose to bottlefeed, I would be interested to hear of their experiences, positive and negative.
Labels: bottle feeding, breast feeding, lactation consultants, madwives
52 Comments:
I see your point John, however, is it at odds with your views on home birth?
Breast feeding protects a child against the risks of asthma, infections, also cot-death.
You've often argued (and I would agree) that hospital birth protects against the risk of neonatal death, to the extent that you condemn home births and would restrict this as a choice.
Now my view would be: don't vilify any mother who is trying to do their best. But their view on 'best' and mine or yours can be different. Some mum's 'bests' might include smoking to stay calm - and nicotine is bad for the baby whether in or out of the womb.
I think excluding bottle-feeding mothers is taking things too far. Plus there may be reasons why a mother is unable to breast-feed. I also think 'lactating consultant' is a trumped up pompous title almost designed to patronise and irritate. But all that said, having someone experienced, sympathetic, reassuring and supportive to talk women through the early, sometimes difficult days of breast feeding, or persuade one to give it a try, I think is generally a good thing.
Dr Delilah
Hi Dr D
Don't get me wrong; I am not suggesting that breast is not better. I am merely saying that our job is to present the facts objectively. Women should not be forced to breast feed.
That's all
John
My body, my choice. (Having said that I chose to breastfeed - and was 'tod off' by an Occupational Health Nurse as I couldn't have my Hep B vaccination on the day she had scheduled it as I was still breastfeeding: she thought 11 months was too old).
Mothers should be told 'breast is best' generally, and be provided with support to breastfeed if they are finding it hard. Many Mothers do not make a conscious choice about it - they have a misperception about breastfeeding and decide not to without considering all of the implications. However, no Mother should be made to feel second best because they do not/cannot breastfeed. Just the same as no Mother should be made to feel embarassed or vilified for breastfeeding in public (I eat in public, why shouldn't my child - why should I have been forced on a number of occasions to breastfeed my child in toilets? This was 8 years ago but it still happens).
"My body, my choice".
It's a shame you think of it as something which is exclusively about you, and not also your baby.
Dr Delilah
I got my first child in a hospital that had a WHO-certificate for its maternity unit. All nurses were trained to help with breastfeeding and they were really proud that a lot of new mothers left who were happy with breatfeeding. I think they delivered the holistic care nurses are so proud of. My second child was born in a hospital where not all nurses were familiair with helping with breastfeeding. I could see the difference. And then a hospital might decide to get a lactation consultant? I didn't met her there.
"My body, my choice"
It is about me, and my baby. Advice is fine - I'm a (oh, go on I will us the dreaded term that Dr C hates so much) healthcare professional. I know that breast is best. But it is still MY CHOICE. I did breastfeed. I breastfed because:
It was best for my baby
I was happy to do it
I wanted to do it
However, nobody had the right to tell me that I ABSOLUTELY MUST DO IT.
"Lactation Consultant", I would not be pleased to have this descripion of a role I routinely carry out, it sounds somehow bovine. You are right Dr C, they do earn a large amount of money, and the reason is that people like me are often not able, too busy, to provide enough support to breastfeedng women so there is a demand for their 'services' which they are taking advantage of.
I can't sympathise wth your feeling that 'breastfeeding rooms' discriminate against those who bottle-feed. A woman who is bottle-feeding does not need to expose her breasts, therefore does not require privacy, neither is her feeding position as important to feeding baby successfully. A woman who is bottle-feedng will, in many units, have ready-prepared bottles provided free of charge, is that discriminating against those who breastfeed, no it's just that each woman has different requirements for feeding her baby.
I do agree though that how to feed baby is a woman's choice and that she should be supported in that choice. Did you know that midwives ae now not allowed to show, or talk to women antenatally, about how to make up feeds and sterilise feeding equipment?
Midwives are not nurses. This is not another example of "nurse specialist twaddle". Midwives are as much nurses as GPs are physiotherapists. If you're going to rant at least aim for some accuracy.
When I was pregnant, I took a "How to breastfeed" class (do these even exist in the UK?) run by an RN where we were told several times that while breast was best, if you try everything but the baby won't latch, your nipples crack and bleed, whatever, you should stop because A) stress for mommy is no good for baby and B) people have managed somehow to survive on formula and grown up just fine. Then the day after I gave birth, this woman with a lab coat on over her powersuit walked into my room. After finding out that she was the lactation consultant (had to ask; she never volunteered the info), I told her that I was happy with my class, that I had also spoken with my mom and grandmother so I felt I had things pretty well in hand. She asked to see how I was positioning my child. Foolishly I said yes. Then came the barrage of "Oh, that's not right" and "Don't worry if your nipples bleed, just power through" and "You're going back to work in 6 weeks? You'll need to get a ($300 by the way) breast pump!" etc, etc. Not five minutes after I got rid of her, one of the nurses came in and asked how my session with the "lactation Nazi" went. I told the nurse that if I were more emotionally vulnerable, I'd be in tears as according to her I was doing nearly everything wrong. It came out in conversation that all the nurses there hated the LCs but because of the demand in the area served by the hospital, the nurses had to put up with them. Personally, I saw no need for the LC - the nurses were training me/checking my skills in baby care just fine.
Slightly off-topic, but I’d like to ask: are doulas also gaining in popularity in the UK?
Nearly forgot to say, after 8 weeks I dried up (pumping while at work and feeding in the evening just wasn't making enough milk) and went to formula. No medical person said anything negative about it. Two complete strangers, however, felt it was incumbent upon them to educate me about why "breast is best," one in the food court of a mall, and the other in a women's bathroom. I told them to fuck off, and felt wonderful after having done so.
"How to breastfeed" class (do these even exist in the UK?)
They do exist in the UK as part of antenatal education.
" are doulas also gaining in popularity in the UK?" Yes they are, mainly due to the lack of support available to women as a result of staffing levels.
Personally, I love the lactation consultants we have. But I only consult them with mom's who WANT to breast feed.
Breast is best. True. But breast is not necessarily best if the mom is made to feel guilty, talked into it. It will likely fail.
I see so many moms who were "talked into it" elsewhere, who have to quit after 6-8 weeks because THEY HAVE TO WORK (this is the USA after all), who feel guilty, depressed, etc.
IF this country would support families, like we like to SAY we do, it might be different.
Back in the 'good old days' in 1971, my first child was born in the local Maternity Home. I was persuaded, much against my will, to try breast-feeding.
My son was born with a lower front tooth. I will not describe the next 48hrs, other than to say I got no kindness from any nurse. Then one told me that the baby would be operated on the next day to remove the tooth; when I refused to allow that, she told me that the baby would then probably swallow the tooth, choke on it and die. Nice one, nursie!
That night, my husband accompanied me to the Ward Sister, and told her I was going to stop trying to breast feed (the milk had not yet come in).
The following morning, we were all woken at 6am by a Sister slamming open the ward door and shouting "where's the mother who won't breast-feed?". When I owned up, I was made to stand in the middle of the ward, drop my nightie and have a breastbinder put on by a junior nurse. When it was done up, Sister asked me "does it hurt?", and when I answered "no", she instructed the nurse to pull it tighter. When she left, I took it off, the milk never did come on; together with so much else that happened in that week, I developed a considerable hatred for the nursing profession.
When my next child was born (at a different Maternity Unit) 16 months later, there was a strike of orderlies at the time. This meant the nurses and midwives were a little busier than usual.
Apart from refusing to phone my husband so that he could get to hospital in time to see the birth, and refusing to believe me that the birth was imminent (so she was born in the pre-natal bed not the delivery suite, and I was badly torn), I said I wouldn't breastfeed, I was given a pill within a couple of hours of delivery, no argument, and that was it.
So much for the great days of the Hospital Matron!
My daughter has happily breastfed her first and now her second infant, because she enjoys the whole process - that's great, but it wasn't for me, and the bullying delayed the bonding process with my baby son for quite some time.
Bookartist
Yes, Doulas are becoming more popular in the UK, but only for those who can afford them. The rest of us get by just fine with midwives and/or friends.
More generally:
Interested in the assertion "my body, my choice". It would be nice if my body had read that memo, apparently being under the impression that the two enormous lumps under my jumper were just for show, not anything more practical. I wouldn't have minded so much if my flat chested neighbours hadn't had enough for the entire ward. So unfair, I thought. Still, my three survived on formula and appear none the worse for it.
Fx
Interested in the assertion "my body, my choice". It would be nice if my body had read that memo, apparently being under the impression that the two enormous lumps under my jumper were just for show, not anything more practical. I wouldn't have minded so much if my flat chested neighbours hadn't had enough for the entire ward. So unfair, I thought. Still, my three survived on formula and appear none the worse for it.
Fair enough. It must be tough wamting to breast feed and not being able to - my best frined (Mother of my 'god'children) had the same issue.
But, if you *can* and choose not to then that is also fine. Why should any Mother be made to feel guilty abou what she can or cannot do. or chooses or chooses not to do?
And it is late and I have had a few glasses of wine so please forgive my appalling spelling - wouldn't want Dr C to accuse Nurses of being shit at anything else now would we?
I think it is awful that women are made to feel bad if they choose not to breastfeed. But I would like to say that I was made to feel a bad mother because my child was still breastfeeding at 12 months (and not that interested in a lot of solid foods), by a health visitor. She would be anemic, not learn to speak properly, other disadvantages. Add to that the isolation of breastfeeding, being compared to a cow by a neighbour, hearing people say how dirty they think it is, knowing my in laws regard it as disgusting, etc etc etc...
A cpn:
My mother wouldn't have dreampt of breast feeding her children - so frightfully common. Being middle class she was persuaded by the formula companies that bottle feeding was best for baby (backed up by the medical profession at that time) and anything else was, well, not quite "U". This, of course, is why the pendulum has swung the other way now. In those days women had mastitis from not breast feeding, their children got sick because - surprise! - formula isn't best after all. Obviously the breast feeding nazis are a bit extreme ... as are the women who insist on continuing to breast feed their children right up to the time when they (the children)can undo mum's buttons in the most inappropriate places! Lol!
Fx
their children got sick because - surprise! - formula isn't best after all.
But is better than not being fed at all (facetious I know) or the Mother being so disheartened and stressed by 'pressure' to breastfeed that she becomes depressed.
I totally agree BREAST IS BEST, but no-one should be mde to feel guilty for the choices they make whatever the reason. I was completely bottle-fed, as were two of my siblings. The other two were breastfed for six months. We have a mix of 'intelligence' (academic achievement) levels and other other differences - I bet no-one would be able to distinguish 'breast' from 'non-breast'.
Anonymous at 12.59
But I would like to say that I was made to feel a bad mother because my child was still breastfeeding at 12 months
Me too.
""My body, my choice".
It's a shame you think of it as something which is exclusively about you, and not also your baby.
Dr Delilah"
I have 4 children, 2 are doctors, one medic and a younger one in his first year studying another medical science. All are very bright, healthy, happy with no abnormalities or anything affecting their mental well being .. etc.
As I am quite tall and used to play basket ball, I had to have an epidural in all my 4 deliveries because my muscles wouldn't relax or strech easily so each and every birth was very long and the pain was unbearable before having the epidural.
After each birth, I tried tried hard to breast feed but couldn't. Maybe because since puperty, I always had tender nipples and was never comfortable with anything touching them. So, every time I tried to breast feed, I had to grit my teeth, often broke into sweet and nearly fainted on a few occasions. Matters were made worse by the looks of accusation in the nurses and other people's eyes, including members of my own extended family I tried and tried but I couldn't and I know it was possibly all to do with my mind as there was nothing wrong with me health wise.
I am in my fifties now but have always felt very guilty at my inability to breast feed. This guilt was strong and remained with me until very recently. It is still always at the back of my mind whether I harmed my children, whom I love most in the whole world, in any way or if the results of not being breast fed would show in adulthood somehow.. Terrible feeling.
Please be kind to women who can not breast feed, they already feel guilty and do not needall of you 'experts' but total strangers to tell them that 'you' know what is best for them. Some women can not breast feed, not because of a biological condition but sometimes a mental block. Accusations do not help, they enlarge the problem and you end up making them feel inadequate, even not worthy of being mothers and this results in making those mothers feel guilty for life. Not right to make a young mother with new responsibilities of another human being feel that bad.
BTW, My biggest achievement are my children ... I raised them well
Ex wife tried to breast feed both our babes - it hurt like hell apparently but she made it thru the cholostrum both times before moving to formula.
Hospital 1: cottage type, family feel - "ok lets get you some bottles sorted"
Hospital 2: DGH meat market - AIN walks up and says "You have to try breast. Let Aunty Jenny show you how to do it" - she nearly got punched in the mouth. It took a whole day to convince the nurses to give us formula.
Some of the best supports I have seen for new mothers has come from unqualified staff who've had kids and worked the maternity for 20 years.
This new fangled "tit nurse" sounds shit.
I prefer breast (err.. for babies as well) but if the mother chooses not to - her prerogative. No one has a right to tell us what to do with our bodies. (this includes smoking, fatty foods, suicide and use of anal beads).
I consider myself an "expert" on infant feeding, not just because I'm a SCM [Cambridge, mid-70s] but because I've got three children, one who was exclusively breast-fed, one who was exclusively bottle-fed, and one who got me first and was topped up with formula as needed.
The long term results were the same, in terms of childhood infections, weight gain, IQ, etc. All are now happy, healthy, successful adults.
All my babies were very hungry ones, and I never produced sufficient breast milk to satisfy them. I was an exhausted, nervous wreck by the time #1 was 6 weeks old, but I had been properly brainwashed in nursing school. A surprising discovery, with #2 and #3 was how much more my husband was involved when he could give a feed. He really enjoyed it.
Moderation in all things, I say. I can still remember the ward sister asking each new Mum, in her poshest voice, "Are you intending to feed the baby YOURSELF, or are you going to ARTIFICIALLY feed?" It took quite a bit of guts for a simple East Anglian peasant to ask for a bottle after that! [Nearly all the mothers stopped nursing once the midwife stopped making postpartum home visits] The pressure to BF is nothing new.
Anonymous said...
Midwives are not nurses. This is not another example of "nurse specialist twaddle". Midwives are as much nurses as GPs are physiotherapists. If you're going to rant at least aim for some accuracy.
~~~Quite a few of us are. When I studied midwifery in the UK, we ALL were. Of course, that was before the Flood, and Nu Labour. [I am 40 years "in the business" and probably old enough to be Dr. Crippen's mother]
Secured Loans UK are available online and perhaps it is the best platform to go for any loan even.
Yes it does hurt but there is nothing better than getting back to nature and partners can be "involved" if you have a good relationship and imagination! In fact think of how good it is or your body and all those hormones and all that time together and all that leads to especially if you were still half asleep when they said it was not effective as contreaception! It means you can go through half the next pregnancy breat feeding the first one and then be ready for a second attempy 10 months later! Its a fantastic feeling and every woman should give it a try at least once to have the sensation and the feeling it gives through your whole body and mind.Bottles just don't achieve that whatever you do with them!
Payday Loans For All
provides you the useful loans information like payday loans, faxless payday loans.
The rates of interest on the bad credit loans will be greater, when likened to loans provided to folks with good credit.
Now with LOANS you have an opportunity to solve the financial crisis.
Now with LOANS you have an opportunity to solve the financial crisis.
Anonymous said... Midwives are not nurses. This is not another example of "nurse specialist twaddle". Midwives are as much nurses as GPs are physiotherapists. If you're going to rant at least aim for some accuracy.~~~Quite a few of us are. When I studied midwifery in the UK, we ALL were. Of course, that was before the Flood, and Nu Labour. [I am 40 years "in the business" and probably old enough to be Dr. Crippen's mother]
++++++
Oh poooo.
You know full well that a lot of midwifes trained as nurses first. I know you do not have to, but a lot are doubly qualified. And anyway, using the word generically, what is "nursing" all about? What's a "wet nurse"? Are you suggesting that madwifes, RGNs or not, do not do some nursing?
John
Midwives are Midwives end of story.
Sadly, the labour and post delivery paperwork frenzy + staff shortages + short stay in hospital make it very difficult to support new Mums with breastfeeding. In such a system , having someone within the organisation to promote and support breast feeding is a pragmatic approach.
The title sucks :-)
I breast fed both my children. Having grown up in a large Irish family and being one of the eldest, I had seen my mother breast feeding my siblings. Both my children were born in small maternity units where the midwives were brilliant. I had an epidural with the second one and although it made the birth more comfortable, it made the first feed very difficult to do. My husband was there to help and he actually ended up showing a student nurse hwo to latch the baby on ( much to his delight!). A few years ago I was at the birth of a friend's first baby- she was in her 40s and her husband was in the armed forces. She opted for her local hospital and although the staff were all very nice, they were obviously overworked. The breast feeding was left up to my friend- she had decided to try it but wasn't given any help. She says now that if I hadn't been with her she would have probably given up and bottle fed.
My wife appreciated the help from a midwife soon after the birth of our child - the midwife spent some time with her and got the breastfeeding off to a good start. Another midwife on a different shift was a git and had a very negative effect.
Rather than having a specialist person marching around making a big deal of it, I think a sympathetic midwife is the best bet every time. After xx hours in labour, feeling emotionally fragile and exhausted and with 7 other new mothers in the same ward, no new mum is going to want an authoritarian figure standing there at the end of the bed telling her she's doing it wrong.
I wanted to breast feed, I did (and do) feel it is indeed 'best'. When I had my baby I was overwhelmed - first baby, no experience of other peoples babies, hardly any midwife input whilst pregnant. I was told I shouldn't try to feed my baby unless there was a nurse there to help me. When I felt my baby needed a feed and I asked for help I didn't get it (they were busy). I ended up with sore nipples and a hungry baby - and criticism (from the nurses) that I hadn't done it right. I ended up discharging myself within 36 hours and bottle feeding. I'm sure I should have been more patient but I feel it was that or my sanity. I can't see what a consultant nurse or other specilaist could have done. I needed real time support and they just couldn't provide it.
I find it so utterly sad that new parents have to trawl their way through so much bullshit. It's a time where so much upheaval and change has occurred, physically as well as emotionally, I really feel there's often a sadistic element involved; it can't be for the new mother's benefit to make them feel like they've just injected heroin into their baby's body.
Sorry to hear of your experiences bottle feeding mum. Like you, I don't think your experiences are atypical.
A friend of mine was once asked by a rather snooty midwife if she was going to breastfeed or 'feed artifically'. She said she was going via the artifical route; she was going to employ a team of robots to do it. ;)
I read with interest your recent post on bottlefeeding mothers. I am sick of being made to feel guilty about my choice to bottle feed my young son. No pregnant woman can miss the breastfeeding propaganda that proliferates at antenatal clinics. Breast is best, breastfeeding prevents asthma/allergies/piles/you name it in babies, breastfeeding mothers get their figures back quicker, breastfed babies have higher IQ's. Hey, I wanted some of that! I bought and read the breastfeeding manuals, looked at endless webpages on how to breastfeed, I didn't even buy bottles such was my resolve to breastfeed. When my son was born I did all the right things, brought him to my breast as soon as the midwife let me, exactly how I'd practiced time and time again in my mind, the Madonna and Child...only to find that I had absolutely no milk (nope, not even a drop of colostrum) and it soon became clear that my son was frustrated at not getting his first meal and I was desperate at not being able to feed him. The midwives came round to make sure I was doing it right, and I was, and he sucked and sucked and nothing came out. The breastfeeding counsellor came round complete with knitted tit, I showed her that no amount of groping and squeezing was going to produce anything. Suddenly she had to go and see somebody else and I was left to it. My son was not getting enough fluids and so the midwives started getting me to give him formula milk from a cup, most of it ending up on the floor. The second night I was feeding my son formula from a cup, I decided it would just be a whole lot easier if he fed from a teat. The midwife read me the standard lecture on teat/nipple confusion and informed me that there was no way back. I was tired and emotional and above all I was worried that my son was getting dehydrated. I bottle fed my son, and for the first time since he was born he didn't appear as though he was hating every second of being fed. The breastfeeding posters were everywhere on the ward, indeed next to my bed was a poster boldly stating "say no to teats and shields!". One madwife, without so much as a second look, decided that I was doing it wrong. She yanked hold of my tit and thrust it into my son's mouth. I yelped, to which she replied "you're just being sensitive". Hang on, I was induced (painful) and the birth happened too quickly for an epidural so did it all with entonox and a bit of morphine. I know what pain feels like and that hurt. I felt despondent, I felt a failure, I considered knotting sheets and escaping out of the ward with my son and even now as I write this I still feel tearful at how I was made to feel for not being able to breastfeed, as I'd prepared myself so much for breastfeeding as the books and literature tell you to. My milk didn't come in for 5 days and I know my son would have been seriously ill had it not been for bottlefeeding. It felt like the only friend I had in the place who was sympathetic to the fact that I was bottlefeeding was a paediatrician, who said that really there's negligible difference between breast and bottle, and that given the circumstances I was doing what's right for my son. (He told me a joke - what's the difference between a midwife and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist. How that cheered me up!) The second paediatrician I saw read me the standard lecture about breastfed babies having higher IQ's than bottlefed babies. She didn't like it when I pointed out I was bottlefed and managed a first class honours degree, yet still told me to carry on trying to breastfeed. My son is now 10 months old, is exactly on the 50th percentile and has hit all his milestones. I don't see how I could have done any better for him if I'd have breastfed. Even now I get disparaging looks when I admit to bottlefeeding, the same kind as if I were to say I give him crack cocaine. I am still in no doubt as to the advantages of breastfeeding, but there is precious little support given to women who bottlefeed whether through choice or necessity, and bottlefeeding mothers are made to feel like failures. I understand that the point has to be made about breastfeeding, but the point has been made too strongly and maybe the medical profession should ease off the breastfeeding propaganda. It really has gone too far. That's my experience for what it's worth, and I don't think that my sorry experience is atypical.
Bottlefeeding Mum
Who helps the bottlefeeding mums? The same poor nurses in the postnatal ward or the neonatal nursery that are run ragged trying to do everything else for everyone else in the department.
So, you're a mum who's breast feeding, and you're having a bit of bother. The little one won't latch so well, and maybe your milk hasn't come through yet. You tell the ward midwife. What happens? She gets the lactation consultant for you. This lady drops in, wearing her powersuit, and chats to you over coffee for about half an hour, then spends time walking you through a breatsfeed. Syhe comes back again the next day until you've got the nack of it. Some babies are even kept in hospital for several days after delivery because the lactation consultant ins't quite happy yet.
Then the 17 year old mum, who's never held a kid in her life wants help. But she's a bottle feeder. She doesn't know the differences between the formula types, and she doesn't even know roughly how much a baby needs to drink every day. She doesn't get a lactation consultant. She gets 2 minutes of advice from an overworked ward midwife who, with the best will in the world, can't even begin to scratch the surface of the educational requirements of this mother.
It's a crock of shit. But then again the WHO don't give fancy certificates to hospitals who help 17 year old mums bond successfully with their baby and avoid the imminent post-natal depression.
Got to get our priorities right, don't we ;)
Dr. Thunder
www.twoweeksonatrolley.blogspot.com
In response to Dr Thunder as for who helps the bottle feeding mums... the instructions are written on the tin, that's a good starting point. As for choosing formula, just pick the one that looks prettiest- all the same stuff isn't it?
I do know that my boobs didn't come with an instructions written on them.
And that 17 year old girl can ask anyone she knows who has had kids what to do about bottles as most likley, everyone she knows will have formula fed their kids longer than they breastfed for.
It's not a crock of shit as you state. Its bloody hard would and should be supported. Why is breastfeeding only done by a minority of mums in the western world when the rest of the world manage to do it for longer than us? Aren't we meant to be the educated ones?
I think you need to read up on the benefits of breastfeeding a little bit more.
Or maybe breastfeed your own kids.
I wouldn't worry about undue pressure to breastfeed from 'lactation consultants'. As soon as a new mother leaves hospital she meets the anti-lactations consultants, a.k.a. the health visitors, whose answer to every problem is to give formula.
The sarcastic bullying tone of the comments from anthea and ruth illustrate beautifully the sort of crap mothers are up against.
Also the callous stereotyping of the 17 year old mum just makes me hope anthea doesn't work in a capacity with responsibility for vulnerable people.
Well done bottle feeding mum for standing up to the bullying, and for taking pride in doing the best for your baby.
My wife breast fed #2 & #3.
However, she was seriously ill - actually went into heart failure at one stage after our first, following a serious mastitis and womb infection.
The antibiotics + one of the pulmonary tests (I'm not a medic so I can't recall the name) involved radioactive dyes. So breast feeding was out for at least the first weeks, and at that stage he was nicely established on bottles.
I used to get quite cross at the midwives with their breast is best. I agreed with them that is is the preferred way, but sometimes for very good reasons it doesn't work out. Linda really wanted to feed, but wasn't able to - she got the chance for the second two.
Breastfeeding mother from the U.S. here... my LC was extremely nice & did not pressure me at all, one way or the other.
It is not so terribly easy to breastfeed when you've never done it before; when the baby refuses; when you can tell the baby is holding on to the nipple wrong; when the baby is too sleepy all the time; when the baby is nursing, but clearly not getting enough; when the milk is coming out too fast & the baby is choking & giving up in frustration; when you don't know how much the baby is getting and you're terrified that it's not enough.
Look, if we had some critical mass of women hovering over each new mother, women who knew all about problems associated with breastfeeding and knew how to correct them, then LC's might very well be unnecessary. But it isn't like that in most communities.
If breastfeeding is a public health goal, then we need professionals hanging around during the postpartum period who are knowledgeable in matters of lactation.
Anthea, do you inhabit the real world?
So, a 17 year old can get instructions from the side of a can when she's having difficulties feeding here baby? When the baby isn't tolerating feeds, when the baby refluxes, when the baby doesn't want to wake for feeds? In that case, you can get a picture of a pair of boobs from any biology book. It'll be just as much use.
Your stereotyping is almost a parody on middle class Britain. It's properly like something you'd see in a comedy sketch.
If you really believe that young single mums who are having difficulties with feeding their babies just get the highly educated views of their extensive support network, and live a happy life, whilst bonding seamlessly with their baby, then you should catch up on your public health while I catch up on the benefits of breastfeeding ;)
Dr. Thunder
www.twoweeksonatrolley.blogspot.com
I had my first baby in '88. I refused to allow myself to be bullied into breastfeeding. Bottle feeding didn't make me feel any less of a mother. Nor did it stop me bonding with my son. Bottles also allowed my husband & both sets of parents to have some real involvement.
My son was over 7 and a half pounds at birth, and he was a month premature. He's been fit and healthy all his life, apart from the usual childhood chickenpox etc.
I understand there are many reasons for "breast is best" but there is no need to make bottle feeding mothers feel like pariahs.
Two Weeks On A Trolley wrote:
"So, a 17 year old can get instructions from the side of a can when she's having difficulties feeding here baby? When the baby isn't tolerating feeds, when the baby refluxes, when the baby doesn't want to wake for feeds?"
Two Weeks On A Trolley, do you not think that you might perhaps have just answered your own question as to why women on your ward might need a lactation consultant? If the needs of formula-feeding mothers aren't adequately covered by nurses and health visitors, I don't see how you can assume that the needs of breastfeeding mothers are.
Sarah V, I don't understand your point.
Anthea was implying that just because there are instruction on how to make up formula on the side of the can, that bottle feeding should be a doddle.
We don't need to make to even
make up breastmilk, so surely that should be a doddle too?
The point is simple...If you have any modicum of difficulty breastfeeding, you can get a specialist to sit with you for an hour to help you feed. If you have difficulty bottle feeding...tough shit.
What next? Only allowing dieticians to see kids who's mums feed them their 5 portions of fruit and veg per day?
The poor are less likely to breastfeed. It's another example of how they get shafted in the health service.
Like I said before, it's a total crock of shit.
Dr. Thunder
www.twoweeksonatrolly.blogspot.com
Dr Thunder: My point was that in your original post - the one that indirectly started this discussion - you said that you weren't sure why the NICU needed a lactation consultant, and implied that you felt your nurses could tell mothers all they needed to know about breastfeeding. This strikes me as being in blatant contradiction to the point you were trying to make in your last comment about the difficulties of bottle feeding and reasons why a formula-feeding mother might need help.
Breastfed babies also get reflux and also sometimes don't want to wake for feeds. On top of that, while breastmilk doesn't have to be made up, you do still have to get the baby latched on properly, or you're going to be bloody uncomfortable and the baby isn't going to be getting much milk. If you think formula-feeding mothers need extra help, then why shouldn't we need someone to come round and help out breastfeeding mothers as well?
I'll buy the argument that we should have help available for both (when I tried ringing the person listed as a lactation consultant at our local hospital, she told me that she was actually an 'infant nutrition advisor' or some such neutral title, so hopefully she is available for bottle-feeding advice as well). I don't know whether or not formula-feeding mothers need more help than the health visitor can provide; but, if they need it, they should have it. But, if you're going to argue that formula-feeding mothers need some kind of extra help, then it seems to me that that pretty much scuppers your previous implication that breastfeeding mothers don't.
When have I ever said breastfeeding mums don't need help?????
It's an equality issue.
All babies can get reflux, and can struggle to wake for feeds.
Dr. Thunder
www.twoweeksonatrolley.blogspot.com
Dr Thunder: What you were implying in your post was not that breastfeeding mothers don't need help, but that you didn't see the need for a specialist to provide help over and above what the nurses could provide. At any rate, that seemed to me to be what you were meaning when you said "I'm not 100% sure why we need [the lactation consultant]... Our excellent nurses in NICU talk to our mums about breastfeeding". I know you were sleep-deprived when you wrote that post, so that may of course not be what you meant at all, and I may be trying to clarify a point to you that no longer needs clarification because, following some sleep, you've realised exactly why such a specialist is needed. But, if not, then that's why: Because feeding a baby is difficult, and because breastfeeding does present difficulties that nurses may not have the training or the time to help with.
Despite some rest, I'm still unconvinced we need a lactation consultant.
What I actually said was:
"Now, I'm not sure what exactly a "lactation consultant" does. I know she wears a power suit and talks to mums about breast feeding. I'm not 100% sure why we need her. She looks expensive. From what I can work out, she's a nurse who has some extra training in breasfeeding. So she's there to pass her wisdom onto our new mums. Our excellent nurses in NICU talk to our mums about breastfeeding too. They don't call themselves "Looking after sick baby consultants". "
So, I think there was some selective quoting there.
We need someone who helps mums of those who breastfeed AND those who bottlefeed.
It's a simple point.
Dr. Thunder
www.twoweeksonatrolley.blogspot.com
In fact think of how good it is or your body and all those hormones and all that time together and all that leads to especially if you were still half asleep when they said it was not effective as contreaception!
flashlights rc helicopter video games
i am a frist ime mother of a healthy baby boy. i really wanted to breast feed however after three weeks my milk had dried up. i tried everything from drinking lots of water to warm compresses over my breast but the milk stop coming.when i mentioned it to my doc she was very sarcastic and made me feel like the worst mother ever. i mean i felt like a loser. i had to talk to alot of mothers to gain my confidence back. the breast feeding process was a very trying experience for me, it messed with me mentally. i had all types of worries, will my baby learn like breastfed babies? or will he have a learning problem because he was bottle fed. i felt very confused. needless to say i change doctors a was reassured that what i was going through was normal and i was not a loser because i was bottle feeding my child.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home