I read this article about feeding bottles in JHL (scanned it actually,
didn't read carefully). The author is not saying (if I understood her
correctly) to use her method (the subtleties of which I don't really
understand, I must admit) instead of alternative methods, but only when
other methods don't work. I suppose there are times that babies must be
bottle fed, because they must be fed. But feeding the bottle to a breastfed
baby should be at the bottom of the list of things to do if there are
problems. I have good success in getting babies to take the breast when
they are reluctant. I use alternative methods, but don't insist on
prolonging their use, especially if they are not working. If they don't
work, then go to bottle, fine. If a baby is not taking the breast, the most
important thing is to make sure the milk supply is built up or stays
abundant, because an abundant supply allows for the baby eventually taking
the breast (usually between 4 and 8 weeks of life).
However, if the baby takes the breast and needs to be supplemented, I cannot
understand why a bottle is somehow better. A bottle is a bottle, and a baby
fed by bottle is not on the breast. The lactation aid or its commercial
equivalents are simply a better choice because:
1. the is still on the breast and breastfeeding.
2. the baby still gets milk from the breast, and thus the milk supply may
increase.
3. babies learn to breastfeed by breastfeeding.
4. there is more to breastfeeding than the milk alone (important as that
is).
It is obvious that a baby whose mother has an abundant milk supply will
often go back and forth between bottle and breast (but not always). But if
the mother is truly not producing enough, and the baby gets slow flow from
the breast and steady and usually rapid flow from the bottle, he doesn't
have to be a potential rocket scientist to figure it out. He may eventually
reject the breast completely.
Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC
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