Hello Maya this very mach tallies with what I remember from working in the
Maternity hospital at about that time. It was not a good place for 17
year-old, but I did not get into college. Thankfully I was able to get
another job in a few month. And you are definitely wright that breastfeeding
was not on the yes or no list. Everybody did it. It was a mindset.When I had
my firs almost 12 years ago my nipples were damaged so badly that I could
not nurse him in the usual nursing positions. I would lay him on the bed,
than stand over him on all fours, bend down to him and nurse. I am a large
woman with a bad back. I cryed every time I had to do it. Not  nursing just
did not enter into my head. I also had a lot of moral support from my local
LC and my labour couch, who became into breastfeeding couch.
   There has been a lot of discussion about what has changed and why there
are so many more mothers who and babies who are not latching on. Can the
explanation be a simple shift in thinking from "this needs to be done, so I
will do it" to "If it does not feel good, natural or easy - then we need a
specialist." I certainly see a lot of it in Russian population with which I
deal. Plus idiotic phsyhobabble "my husband will feel deprived if he can not
give baby a bottle", "I can not spend so much time with the baby , the other
kids would develop sibling rivalry."
By the way my mother told me that all that extra milk was needed to bathe
the baby . She remembers hand expressing 3 liter bottles for that purpose.
That is more output than a goat.




On Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 10:04 AM, Maya Bolman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> My oldest will be 22 in June. She was born in Minsk,Belarus. Just wanted to
> share this because of different experience. Breastfeeding was not an
> option,everyone did it,the question "breast or bottle" was never asked in a
> hospital. I didn't see my daughter for over 24h after birth. We had 6
> mothers
> in postpartum room,some with their second babies. Every 3 h a nurse would
> wheel a big cart with all babies laying next to each other, call you by
> name,
> give you your baby. So, you learn by observation and start nursing. We were
> told to breastfeed every 3 h on a clock and only from one side,then hand
> express the same breast "untill it is empty"! We were given big cups for
> expressed milk, I remember nurses collecting those cups from everyone and
> taking it to the nursery. Some version of Milk Banking! And you continue
> all of
> this at home: Breastfeed on one side every 3h,hand express, then the other
> side in 3h.  I learned a hard way that the breast is never Empty,expressing
> for
> hours. And the other breast just overfull, but you cannot nurse on that
> side
> yet. The rate of blocked ducts and  mastitis among breastfeeding women was
> really high,I ended up with an abcess myself. And all that expressed milk,I
> remember ads in newspaper about buying or donating expressed milk.  My
> great aunt was famous in our city,because she did breast massage and
> manual expression for women who had engorgement or blocked ducts. I did
> learned her technique and use it now in my practice. By the way, there are
> hundreds of lactation consultants in Russia,Belarus,Ukraine. None of them
> is
> IBCLC. I read their forums and exchange e-mails. They have a great deal of
> knowledge and experience.  I think, we can learn a lot from each other.
>
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--
Henya
Brooklyn,NY

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