>Do you-all find this so in your practices?  Has anybody found a way to help
>primips to be more sucessful at BF? (without moving in with them <G>)

I am listowner of a Dutch mailinglist about breastfeeding. It has about 60
subscribers now. I am amazed to notice how much impact this list has on the
subscribers. While they gave up bf with previous kids, they now go on. The
duration of the bf relationships is much , much longer than the average in
the Netherlands. But what is more important to me, they have much more
pleasure in it.
Often they jump in and write an introduction that is full of doubts,
uncertainty and thougths about weaning "I do not know how long I will be
able to go on with breastfeeding". Only after a couple of weeks they ar much
happy about their breastfeeding relationship and as a result, do not think
about weaning anymore. It is really amazing!

second thing I notice is how mch nursing on schedule is still common
practice here. A lot of health workers recommend this: 6 or 7 times a day
for a newborn, and quickly there after 5 times or even 4 times a day. It is
amazing to see how mothers are scared to let that schedule go, and how this
influences the bf relation in the long run. Often everything goes very well,
baby thrives, is happy, etc while they get 4 or 5 feedings a day. Until the
baby is 4 5 6 months old. Then the baby stops gaining. (the hormone levels
are falling down, so these do not contribute anymore to the milk
production). Then they want to hear from me that it is normal for a bf baby
to hardly gain anymore on that age (Of course I do not reassure this).

It is difficult to help these women, bc just saying "nurse more often" is
not enough. These women need to reconsider their views on schedules, child
raising and spoiling. I gently tell them that babies need to nurse for
several reasonms, not only for food and that there is nothing wrong with
that. And that nigth feedings are not basically wrong and not only tiring
and , but instead very good for their milkproduction . etc.

--
Annelies Bon               http://www.flnet.nl/~0bon01/bfbronnen.html
bf counsellor in training of the Dutch bf org "Borstvoeding Natuurlijk"

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