Hi everyone.
      Please can you help me?   I have a 21 year-old mother who had a baby
girl born on 27th December, 00.   She had 24 hours of labour and then had a
C/S under general.   Apgar was 9 and 10 and birthweight 4055g.   From the
start the baby refused the breast.   The mother said that there were many
nurses pushing and prodding the baby onto the breast.
The baby just arched it back and screamed!     I saw the mother at home on
the 30th December and after calming the baby down, tried the baby at the
breast - she arched her back and screamed!   I taught the mother and father
finger-feeding and they fed the baby in this manner for about 48 hours - I
saw the baby on the 1st Jan.   I put the baby to the breast and she took it
like a dream.   The mother managed another 2 feeds like this and then the
baby refused the breast again.   Saw the baby on the 2nd and once again took
the breast like a dream - today, the 3rd - the baby has once again refused
the breast.   A friend came in and offered to wet-nurse and the baby took
the breast well but when put near the mother refused!   The baby does not
have a dummy (pacifier) and to my knowledge has not had a bottle (but who
knows what happens at night in the ward)   The tube used for finger-feeding
is the thinnest one - the baby refuses to take the breast so its difficult
to supplement her at the breast.   I find it puzzling that she takes the
breast when I put her on and 2-3 after that and then back to the same old
story.   Mother has been encouraged to do skin-to-skin.   She has a good
support system - her own mother fed 2 adopted babies for over 2 years!!   Am
I missing something?   Mother, being young is getting discouraged.   I have
gone through the list looking for reasons but I am sure it has to do with
treatment in hospital.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Happy New Year to you all.
Barbie Currie. IBCLC. White River, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html