I've often shared the story of my good friend Lenore, whose fifth baby was
born with tetralogy of Fallot (I hope I am spelling everything correctly!).
She did not know about the problem at birth, so cared for him just as she
had her other four children: he lived in the sling, skin to skin much of the
time and he slept beside her at night. She did notice that he was quieter
than her other children but thought it was just a different temperament. He
nursed for short periods of time but very frequently, so he was getting
plenty of high-fat milk and really, he never cried because if he squirmed
around or gave any small cues, she just nursed him again. He was a very
happy baby! His weight gain was very good. The doctors were quite impressed
because he did not at all look like a baby with cardiac problems - he was
plump and healthy. He came home six days after his surgery, never needed any
more surgery and is now a happy, healthy, active eight-year-old.

He did not have any other problems and was born full-term at a good weight.
So he did have a good start. But if the baby is strong enough to nurse at
all, the mother might want to try this approach.

Teresa Pitman

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