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From:
Dave and Sharon <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 28 Aug 2007 22:18:25 +1200
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Hello,

I'm a midwife trained in the US and currently working in New Zealand.  I'm trying to get some information about normal newborn nursing behavior in the first 48 hours.  I'm struggling with trying to let babies sleep and only feeding them when they wake and are hungry.  It is my belief that some normal babies sleep for long periods of time during the first 24-48 hours and that it's actually not helpful or necessary to wake them during this period as long as they are normal/well and have fed well after birth.  Do you have any advice??  

Everything I've found just talks about feeding them as often and as much as they want.  Up to 10-12 times in a day.  I'm actually looking at it from another angle.  I don't like it when the women and their babies are being woken from a deep sleep to be told that their babies need to be fed.  The practice I'm struggling with involves undressing babies, using cold wash cloths on their tummies, even flicking the baby's earlobes to wake them and then hand expressing and syringing colostrum into the mouths of sleepy, unhungry babies to see it just dribble out if you haven't been able to wake them.  

It is my impression that this whole regime sets doubts in the mother's mind about having confidence in the normal interaction between baby and mother.  It starts from day 1-2 to undermine the whole breastfeeding process.  The mother's confidence, that her baby will tell her when he/she is hungry, is diminished right from the start.  I'm struggling here.  

Just like with labour/birth, I don't believe that it is appropriate to intervene "for safety's sake" in a normally progressing process.  It is not harmless.  So, I'm looking for evidence about what is NORMAL for newborn feeding behavior (for normal weight, term, normal newborns whose mothers were not gestational diabetics, etc., etc., that have fed well after birth) in the first 48 hours specifically.  

I'm looking for evidence to support my practice of letting babies wake on their own for feeds.  What I believe is truely breastfeeding "on demand" not just feeding on demand unless they haven't woken in 3-4 hours.  Can you offer any help??

Thanks so much,
Sharon Robinson, RM

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