Heather,
There are a lot of big assumptions in your post. I know that exclusive
pumping may be the only way that some babies get human milk but it's a jump
from that to recommending it to mothers. IMO exclusive pumping has a place
where babies cannot or will not breastfeed and that's pretty much it. If a
mother doesn't feel comfortable or doesn't want to breastfeed for me this is
a red flag that would indicate that what is involved in breastfeeding is
even more important to this baby than in normal circumstances.
We are at the point where at least one (large and respected) pump company is
marketing their product directly at mothers as being "natural" and "feeling
like real breastfeeding" A teat manufacturer who did this would be in breach
of the WHO code....and I believe that this marketing is undermining
breastfeeding and is just the thin edge of the wedge....what is to come will
the belief that exclusive pumping is as you say a "viable alternative" just
as infant formula feeding is a "viable alternative" not a good thing for
mums or babies!
Karlee Gribble
Australia
>
> Which brings me to another point: It's high time someone addressed the
> issue of exclusively pumping and bottle-feeding (perhaps at a
"Controversies in
> Lactation" conference?). We cannot ignore that this is a viable
alternative to
> breastfeeding, an alternative that should, in my opinion, sometimes be
> encouraged versus waiting for the mom to "discover" how great
breastfeeding can be.
> With the polarization of breastfeeding in this culture ("If I can't get
to
> full supply, I'm just going to formula feed"), there are about three
instances
> in my career where I have instructed mothers to exclusively pump and
> bottle-feed, and not put the baby to the breast at all. All three of
these moms have
> called me or come to my support group and emphatically told me that they
would
> be formula-feeders if I hadn't told them to do that. One mom even went
on
> to breastfeed after the dust settled and she realized that she took "step
1"
> with no problems and with great success.
>
> There is a momentum to breastfeeding that has developed over the past
10-12
> years that has much to do with the evolution and commercial availability
of the
> electric breastpump. Yahoo and other websites boast "exclusively
pumping"
> boards; these are full of women who formerly would have been
formula-feeders,
> but because of the great pumps available, they are now breastmilk-feeders.
> Someone should speak on this at an ILCA conference, as exclusive pumping,
its
> establishment, the profile of women that benefit from it, etc., are
> conspicuously absent amidst all the breastfeeding talks. Something to
think about...
>
> Heather Kelly, MA, IBCLC
> Manhattan Lactation Group, NYC, NY
>
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