Dear List,
I am a Mexican woman who gave birth and breastfed in US culture.  While many
of the things that have been said about Hispanic women applied to me, many
did not.  My mother was a great support and help, but she also wanted me to
give solids at 4 weeks.  We did not offer other foods other than colostrum
(except for that one bottle the NURSE gave him without my knowledge. . .)  I
did not plan to give my baby "both breast and bottle".  While breastfeeding
was never optional in my mind, I did however plan to nurse ONLY 6 months. . .


IMHO, while it can be helpful to know the culture that you are serving and
their underlying biases and beliefs, this cannot replace getting to know the
mother/baby diad you are working with.  The cultures that comprise each
Spanish speaking country are so diverse it is impossible to make blanket
statements that would be always true.   I spent 5 weeks in Mexico this past
summer and found an incredible range of experiences within Mexico City.  I
visited a Baby Friendly Hospital that serves government workers and found
that in the follow-up checkups (usually at 2 -4 weeks) when the LC asked
"what is your baby eating?"  the mothers almost always responded "breastmilk"
but when asked "what else other than the breast is your baby getting?" about
90% of them would respond that their babies were also getting teas (chamomile
being predominant).  In this population the problem seem to be getting to
"exclusive" breastfeeding .

During my visit I also helped my sister-in-law get started with
breastfeeding.  She gave birth in a private hospital.  The staff there sent
her home with bottles and formula and told her to feed her baby these since
"she did not want to starve her baby and milk was not in yet" (!!!!).  When I
accompanied her to the pediatrician for the baby's first checkup, he
chastised her because her baby had gained too much weight and suggested water
bottles (!!!) He also told her that she needed to start thinking about solids
by one month (this was a young pediatrician, not too long out of school),
especially since if the baby ever had diarrhea, then she would have something
to eat, since he would prescribe no breastmilk in a situation like this.
 Needless to say I had a few choice questions for him. . .

I recount these experiences because I want to emphasize the need to get to
know the person you are working with.  Yes, know what questions to ask based
on what you know about the culture, but realize assumptions can be wrong.
 Treat them with the respect you would treat anyone else, and teach them and
their family the basics.  Just like you would anyone else.

Norma Escobar,
LLLL