Chris H-E writes:
>
>Now, onto the next issue...we've had many a discussion about rushing to
>latch babies on. In many, many cases of long labor, neither the mom nor the
>baby is ready to nurse and that is perfectly okay. Babies do not absolutely
>have to nurse immediately upon delivery. Is it nice, yes, but not
>essential. My firm belief is that adding technologic gadgetry--including
>the world's best breast pump--can undermine a mother's self-confidence in
>her ability to bf.
I agree - and it is also inefficient for the new learner, and
inefficient as a collector of colostrum. When we are talking 5, 10,
20 mls, having any of those precious drops adhering anywhere is
wasetful, and demoralising.
<snip>
>In these
>cases, I see it as far better to tuck that baby in with mom skin to skin
>with someone in attendance to help her and make sure things are okay. Let
>them both sleep and in a few hours try again. Although we think of early
>postpartum as that golden "window of opportunity" we also have a cusion of
>time.
Absolutely - there is no rush, no panic....but the skin to skin is
essential. What gets to me is units which take a relaxed view (fine)
and have the babies stuck in a crib (not fine) with a tussle every
few hours which raises everyone's anxiety.
>
>etc. If we really need to pump colostrum, I am very much in favor of having
>all moms taught the Marmet technique of hand expressing to help them become
>more comfortable with their breasts and with manipulating their breast
>tissue.
Teaching hand expression is one of the aspects of care looked for by
the Baby Friendly assessors - at least that's what happens here. I
think teaching hand expression is in inself a skill, and in fact,
it's not always appropriate for every mother to be able to learn this
in the 2-3 days tops most of them are in the unit. It's useful to
tell women they can do it if they wish later, and make sure the help
is there if they do decide they need it.
But gadgetry, while useful for some, starts to be counter-productive
when it's over-used. I don't have figures, but I would guess the
majority of bf mothers in the UK never use/need a pump. I hate the
way some manufacturers are promoting them as an essential.....if a
mother needs to express, then bf supporters, ideally, should be
trying to maintain the skill of hand expression, at least as an
option for mothers who don't want to use a gadget.
Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK
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