Dear Colleagues:
Today, I made a big mistake, and am sharing it for us all to learn from,
and trying to make myself feel better.
I have been feeling pretty good about breastfeeding lately; I've been
getting more skilled. I've been working at it, in many forms, for nearly 30
years.
The universe, as usual, "slapped me upside the head" because I was
becoming overly confident.
Today I totally freaked out a baby and a mother. The baby is an
iatrogenically premature infant, the mother was ripped off labor. (Her family "all
have cesareans" and her doctor said her baby hadn't dropped yet, that she
looked like she was 36 weeks at 39. So she surrendered to be cut.)
Mother tells me: "Baby is SO sensitive. No noise, no light, no
distraction during breastfeeding. Has to have blanket a certain way. Likes this
particular chair", which is a terrific nest! These are all excellent observations.
I say great, and am already to help her with her sore nipples with
abraded tips. She's been pushing the breast away from baby's nose and using a
pacifier to delay feeds because of soreness and damage. Day #4.
I promptly disregard all that she has told me about her baby. I totally
ignore what she has said. I talk. I hover. I touch. I move. I rush them
energetically. Baby totally freaks.
Fortunately, I realize it and back off. Pull the drapes closed to make
room dim. Support use of pacifier to calm baby, as a bait and switch back to
breast. Apologize and explain to the anxious grandmother.
I call them after I get home. Mother did settle baby. Took suggestion,
pumped a little, and fed to baby on a spoon. She liked the rolled towel used
to support the heavy breast. (Whew! I did help some....). Mother also thinking
about pumping and bottle feeding. I explain: this is temporary situation
until breasts ease up. Stay with it! Please.....?
I will call tonight.
The lessons: Live and learn. Slow down. 30 years means nothing to this
particular mother and baby. Listen to the mother, the expert.
warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE
Maternal-Child Adjunct Faculty Union Institute and University
Film Reviews Editor, Journal of Human Lactation
Support the WHO Code and the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative
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