I can't imagine how bad this mother must feel having been told that she is
starving her child! ("Babies don't starve themselves, parents starve
babies") Why does it seem that breastfeeding somehow sets off a "must make
this mother wean" mechanism in some healthcare providers? What if something
else is wrong with this baby and they are missing it because they are
focusing on bullying this mom into weaning and giving formula? How much
more sensible it would be to take an accurate diet history, figure out if it
is meeting this baby's caloric needs, assess the baby for other physical
problems, and support the mother either in continued breastfeeding if she
wishes, or gentle weaning if she prefers!
My own 3rd child (ds #2) weighed 13 lbs at 4 mos, and only 14 lbs at 9 mos.
His weight gain really fell off right at about 4 mos, coinciding with a
prolonged viral illness. He had asthma as well, and was ill several times
between 4 and 8 mos. My pediatrician of the time was so wonderful at
dealing with this, which after having had 2 lovely, fat babies was very
stressful for me. She did suggest some tests around 6 mos which came back
negative, and she pointed out to me repeatedly that it was lucky he was
nursing. She actually suggested that I not rush to add solids, since he had
been ill frequently. She did make sure I was nursing him frequently, and
since I was gone full time during the day, that he was given enough
expressed breastmilk during the day. He was active and cheerful and crawled
at 6 mos. Except the times he was ill, he was always bright and happy and
nursed avidly. He started solids around 6 mos, with a focus on calorie
dense foods. After 9 mos, he had no more asthma exacerbations and his
weight gain took off again and he weighed 20 lbs at a year. He's now a
normal sized 6 year old. This pediatrician made a huge difference in how I
felt about this weight problem -- since she was encouraging and supportive,
I felt very comfortable with how she dealt with the problem. Although I
felt stressed that baby wasn't gaining well, I felt we were working on this
together and never felt threatened or belittled. I'm quite sure I would
have been devastated had someone told me I was starving my baby.
I completely agree that it would be a shame if this situation caused this
mother to not breastfeed her next baby due to the information she has been
given about this baby.
Jennifer Tieman
Family Physician
Mom to 4, including nursling Caroline Rose born 5/31/03
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