Chris Mulford asked:  What do you folks say to women prenatally to prepare
them for the reality of the first couple of weeks of breastfeeding?

 

Hi Chris - I try to explain gently what the reality might be, especially the
time required when caring for a newborn; they laugh about how sometimes it
is even hard to find time to brush their teeth.  Then I season it with
comments from other moms in the group in order to soften the blow.  The moms
talk about how it is common to feel pain when starting to breastfeed but it
is not NORMAL.  They go into how to prepare for breastfeeding so that there
is no pain, maybe discomfort if the suckling causes unfamiliar sensations.
The experienced moms share a lot more about what they experienced with other
issues and how they coped.

The most difficult situations are when the moms do not attend prenatal
sessions, come to the group a week or much longer after the birth, and have
been suffering alone.  Some of them give up and turn to artificial baby milk
(ABM) or expressed breastmilk (EB).  I cry inside when they say:  "I thought
breastfeeding was natural and all I had to do was put the baby on the
breast."  Sometimes they are very angry that nobody told them how to avoid
problems:  not in the childbirth classes nor in the prenatal breastfeeding
classes in the hospital; not when the hospital LC said the baby looked good
(?) on the breast; etc.  They don't know that they need to attend La Leche
League meetings while they are pregnant; some actually think that they are
not ALLOWED to attend until after they have the baby.:-(  Yes, we do post
our meeting notices in OB offices, but the women don't understand that it is
important; that it means they need it.

It is not enough to read a book, or see a video, or go on line for
breastfeeding information, or attend prenatal breastfeeding classes at the
hospital.  It is especially important for them to have the ongoing
mother-to-mother emotional support; it is very helpful; it is like a surge
of adrenaline every month and helps them carry on until the next meeting.
Yesterday, the experienced moms in my group discussed that the new moms
don't realize that one or two meetings are not enough; it can take several
meetings before they realize how much they need each other.

Warm regards,

Lee

 

Lee Galasso, MS, LLLL, IBCLC, RLC

Lactation Specialist

Lactation Center of Westchester/Putnam

Westchester County in NYS, USA

 

914-245-2206

[log in to unmask]

 

Vice-President

Westchester/Putnam/Rockland (WPR) Lactation Consortium

 

"Children are Born with the Right to be Breastfed"

 

 


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