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Lactation Information and Discussion

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Subject:
From:
Glenn Evans <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 12 Nov 1997 09:24:02 -0800
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"Do any of you ever suggest letting the baby nurse "just a bit" to relieve
engorgement in a mother who is bottle-feeding?  Have you ever seen a mother
change her mind and breastfeed after doing this?  Why wouldn't this work?"

 I have, and it does.  Very few moms are actually still in the hospital when they get engorged, anymore, with drive-by deliveries as you phrased it.
Those few that are, and aren't already breastfeeding (we have a 90%+ initiation rate), have been encouraged to put the baby to breast for relief.  
The few times it's happened when I've been around,  I've said something like
"nature's giving you another chance to choose about breastfeeding," or
"gee, since you have to go through all this un-fun-stuff anyway, wouldn't you like to try some of the fun-stuff and breastfeed?"  Several of them have, and continued.

I recently got a call from our pediatric unit.  A 16 year-old bottlefeeding mom was hospitalized for endometritis one day post-discharge (which itself was one day post-delivery) --  and since she wasn't breastfeeding they didn't admit her, with the baby, to post-partum.  While in hospital her engorgement developed.  The pedi nurses called to know about binding and other remedies for her leaking and discomfort.  I told them that we no longer use binding or tight bras, and told them how they might alleviate mom's discomfort and distress.  I suggested to them that they offer mom the chance to breastfeed.  They called me back the next day to say mom had responded very positively to the suggestion, had her family bring the baby in, and started nursing, with no plan to stop, not then nor for the next several months.

Sincerely,  Chanita

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