Lara and others make so many good points about the barriers to obese women 
breastfeeding.  I just want to add one more: logistics.  Positioning is 
different for women who are very big.  Most positions described for a normal 
size woman will frustrate or fail an obese mother.  And then the dominoes will 
begin to fall --- mother can't latch baby on; baby has fewer nursings; mom has 
less stimulation; supply doesn't come in as robustly as it should etc. etc.  
Maybe getting the right support could change some of the statistics about obese 
mothers and breastfeeding.


I heard a presentation by Kay Hoover that included some wonderful pictures of 
mothers being very creative to latch a baby on.  One very obese mother in a 
hospital bed is using a bedside table in lieu of a lap (since she has none) in 
order to position her baby at her very large breast.  Another photo shows a 
mother using a changing table to support both baby and breast.  Another 
presentation by Linda Kutner included an astounding graphic presentation of the 
growth of obesity rates in the United States.
   
I look forward to learning as much as I can to help this subset of clients since 
the obesity epidemic seems only to get worse.  Thank you to all who added to 
this discussion.  It is fascinating and timely.

Best wishes,
Nancy Mallin, MA, IBCLC, LLLL
Kensington, Maryland, USA


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