Hi! March Madness has begun here in Florida and it isn't
basketball...Deliveries, Deliveries...which means lots of Moms and babes who just don't hook up
easily it seems....This is in response to the observation about Asian babies.
Yes we get a fair share with all our universities and large Jamacian Chinese
population.  My ladies from the mainland of China often have fussy babies and
it may be attributed to diet.  Often the families will bring in teas, soups
and foods that have bokchoy and other gaseous items. Often the grandmas and
families either bring in or have sent from China herbal medicines that are meant
to cleanse the uterus and stop the bleeding and " help" bring in the good milk.
 If I can get the Moms to initiate breastfeeding prior to LII happening the
babies will nurse but Mom is not enthusiastically embracing it until they go
home...I often refer to the colostrum as first milk.  Of course we see higher
bili levels and the neos will follow that carefully.
Our island nurse population at nighttime will encourage  the babies to
bottlefeed.
They will say the babies are very fussy and crying alot so it must mean they
are hungry. (Yes, our taskforce is trying to reeducate.) But often Mom is
fussy and cranky as well...the concept of the "Good Earth" is a fallacy.  Often
you hear loud talking like its an argument, you go in the room and ask if
everything is fine and they are laughing and doing well...Its a big cultural
difference that is fascinating to me.  Often the moms will be upset because their
mothers can't get over for the birth or they have been delayed and then you will
see some problems with sadness and blues, including the spouse whose role is
very defined by the wife's mother's involvement in the care of the new mom and
baby.  They do everything possible to insure she is present for the
postpartum.  Daughters defer to their mothers "wisdom".
As a caregiver I try to learn what their culture requires and explain the
policies and try to plan a care plan that will get them through until they go
home...I alert the pedi if I see some potential difficulty and enlist the aid of
either a more americanized friend or one of our younger nurses who is of
Jamacian Chinese background. And as in all things in life:  sometimes it works and
other times it doesn't.
Just my prespective...
Leanne Jewell, RNC, LCCE, FACCE

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