This was forwarded to me by my co-instructor. Thought the list might
appreciate seeing it.
Priscilla Tansley RN,IBCLC
----- Original Message -----
To: "priscilla tansley" <[log in to unmask]
Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2003 9:49 PM
Subject: Fwd: NYTimes.com Article: More Mothers Are Breast-Feeding Longer,
Survey Shows
>
>
>
>
>
> > More Mothers Are Breast-Feeding Longer, Survey Shows
> >
> > November 25, 2003
> > By ALICIA AUL
> >
> >
> >
> > The number of women who start breast-feeding in the
> > hospital and who are still nursing six months later is at
> > an all-time high, according to a survey released today. Yet
> > 30 percent of new mothers never try breast-feeding, and 67
> > percent have quit by six months, the Ross Mothers Survey
> > found.
> >
> > Conducted yearly since 1955 by the formula maker Ross
> > Products, a division of Abbott Laboratories, the survey is
> > considered the definitive picture of breast-feeding in the
> > United States, in part because the government does not
> > collect such data. About 200,000 women respond to the
> > survery annually, the company said.
> >
> > Though there have been large increases among most women,
> > African-American mothers still lag behind their white and
> > Hispanic counterparts. And among women who traditionally
> > have had higher breast-feeding rates - the
> > college-educated, over-30 mothers who live in the Mountain
> > and Pacific regions of the United States - there was a
> > slight decline in in-hospital initiation from 2001 to 2002.
> >
> >
> > The rates may reflect the continuing reality that
> > breast-feeding can be difficult, frustrating and, at times,
> > mysterious, especially since most women begin with little,
> > if any, solid knowledge or skills.
> >
> > This year, a federal panel found that a class - as simple
> > as one hour of instruction - can give a woman the help she
> > needs and the wherewithal to stick with breast-feeding for
> > at least the first few months. That panel, the federal
> > Preventive Services Task Force, recommended that health
> > professionals encourage women to attend a class.
> >
> > "Just telling a woman to breast-feed is not enough," said
> > the task force chairman, Dr. Alfred Berg, who is chairman
> > of the department of family medicine at the University of
> > Washington.
> >
> > After reviewing 22 studies of efforts aimed at helping
> > women breast-feed, the panel found that a structured class
> > was more effective than any other program, including peer
> > counseling. It did not seem to matter whether the class was
> > offered before or after birth, or if it was large or small.
> >
> >
> > "The ones that were successful seemed to have an explicit
> > structure," covering anatomy and physiology, myths and
> > misconceptions, basic techniques, and how to overcome
> > obstacles, said Dr. Jeanne-Marie Guise, a task force member
> > and an obstetrics and gynecology professor at Oregon Health
> > & Science University.
> >
> > The panel estimated that for every three to five women who
> > attend a class, at least one would still be breast-feeding
> > three months later. Additional support through postdelivery
> > phone calls, at-home or in-hospital visits with lactation
> > consultants, or peer counseling, extended breast-feeding
> > beyond three months.
> >
> > Hospital discharge packages, filled with formula or
> > discount coupons, were disincentives, the panel found. Its
> > recommendations were published in the July/August issue of
> > The Annals of Family Medicine.
> >
> > Carol Ryan, a board certified lactation specialist and
> > manager of perinatal education at Georgetown University
> > Hospital, said many women had lost skills and knowledge as
> > bottle-feeding supplanted breast-feeding over the last few
> > decades. Now those figures are slowly reversing, and as
> > more women want to breast-feed, they commonly express fears
> > about the process.
> >
> > At a breast-feeding class this summer at Holy Cross
> > Hospital in Silver Spring, Md., a roomful of expectant
> > mothers and their partners said they had come to disabuse
> > the myths they had heard.
> >
> > "The most important thing is, you've got to feel
> > comfortable," said Michelle Smith, 38, a registered nurse
> > who was expecting her first child.
> >
> > Ms. Smith had taken a free class at a retailer, but it
> > skimped on details, she said. She was willing to pay the
> > $35 for a three-hour hospital session "to put my mind at
> > ease," she said.
> >
> > Kim Hughes, 35, and also expecting her first child, said,
> > "I want to take the mystery out of breast-feeding."
> >
> > Her husband, Steve Weiss, 35, said he found the process
> > "intimidating." But he said that he and his wife were
> > determined that she would breast-feed. "It would be a big
> > disappointment if we didn't," he said.
> >
> > Most parents attending the class knew about
> > breast-feeding's benefits, like improved immunity for the
> > baby and quicker postpartum weight loss for the mother.
> > Their main concern was how to succeed.
> >
> > After exhorting the class to think positively, the
> > instructor, Louise Smith, a registered nurse and certified
> > childbirth educator, got down to the nuts and bolts of
> > breast anatomy and physiology, what to expect in the first
> > two days when the colostrum is released but no milk is
> > flowing and how to prevent engorgement and nipple damage.
> >
> > Using a baby doll and illustrations, Ms. Smith also showed
> > the class how to recognize hunger cues, how to get the baby
> > to latch on properly to the breast (not the nipple) and how
> > to tell if the child has gotten enough milk.
> >
> > Pinky Strong said that with her first child, her husband
> > and family undermined her by constantly questioning whether
> > her daughter was getting enough to eat. After giving up
> > with that child, Mrs. Strong, 34, was determined to try
> > again. She and her husband, Tom, were delighted after the
> > class. "Now I have a better feel for it," Mrs. Strong said.
> >
> >
> > A crucial take-home point for the Strongs: that it is
> > possible to gauge a baby's intake by its output - the
> > number of wet diapers produced in a day.
> >
> > Despite the enthusiasm of some of the class participants,
> > just 40 of the 600 women who deliver at Holy Cross each
> > month take the twice-monthly breast-feeding class, said Pat
> > Keating, manager of the hospital's perinatal education
> > programs.
> >
> > Though cost may be a perceived barrier, Ms. Keating noted
> > that some insurers covered the class. The hospital also
> > offers the class free to low-income patients.
> >
> > So why aren't more women attending? Some may think they'll
> > receive breast-feeding education in the childbirth class,
> > "so if people only have time for one class they're probably
> > going to take the childbirth education class," Ms. Keating
> > said.
> >
> > "Ideally, you'd get 100 percent of women who are pregnant
> > to go to a breast-feeding class," Dr. Guise said. Barring
> > that, "we can try to break down some barriers to make sure
> > education interventions are accessible to everybody," she
> > said.
> >
> > http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/25/health/
> > 25BREA.html?ex=1070736474&ei=1&en=6eac33340e48e584
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------
> >
> > http://www.nytimes.com/ads/nytcirc/index.html
> >
> > Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company
> >
>
>
***********************************************
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
