We are obsessed with babies having what we call 'wind' in the UK -
the back thumping and patting that mothers think they have to do is
crazy (***why*** would a series of thumps on the *back* get rid of
air in the *stomach*? If an adult feels bloated, windy, flatulent or
whatever, does he/she get their partner to backslap for half an hour?
No.....I think not. Sounds extremely irritating, too)

I have permission to share the following story - the mother wants
people to know what happened and I offered to post her experiences. I
don't think I included Lactnet when I first wrote about it earlier
this year.

Joanna is the mother, and Tom is the baby. Born at term, normal
weight, not got details, sorry.

Over a period of 4.5 weeks,  Joanna experienced continuous
difficulties with Tom staying on the breast. He kept latching and
then coming off, again and again. He gained well in week 2 and then
lost weight in week 3 and then gained a little in week 4.  Output
normal. But he did not stay on the breast well at all.

His lips were often blue after a feed, and his hands and feet were
always very cold.

The mum was told by her healthcare professionals (several of them,
over these weeks, who actually saw the baby) that  lots of babies
have cold feet, and that the blue lips were normal  - and that blue
lips show the baby has 'wind'.  This is a common idea in the UK,
though sometimes it is a blue tinge above the lip that is supposed to
be a sign of wind.

Anyway.....did Tom 'have wind'? No. He was cyanotic and the continued
and increased difficulty with breathing and feeding was affecting his
growth and risking his life at every feed. A vigilant health visitor
(one she had not seen before) at a breastfeeding support group Joanna
happened to go to spotted it. Joanna was at the group because
everyone had told her she had a problem with her milk supply  and
little Tom's on-off feeding was due to wind (they'd seen the proof in
the blue lips, after all) . Anyway, this HV saw the blue lips and
sent Joanna and Tom immediately to hospital - not even stopping off
at home first.


Within a very short time (an hour or so, I think), Tom was diagnosed
with a major heart defect (transposition of the great arteries) and
several holes in the heart. He had an operation later that same day,
which saved his life.

He had a more permanent op some weeks later, and Joanna has managed
to keep some breastfeeding going, last I heard, together with
expressing.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK

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