I explain to moms frequently to get rid of the watches and go back to basics.
 I tell them that women with less resources, such as the Aboriginal women I
observed in Australia this past summer are not timing their feedings and do not
have foremilk/hindmilk issues.

One woman in the airplane while traveling from one city to another gave her
child free access to her breast.  He nursed on and off the breast at his free
will as we flew.  I tell moms we'd have no foremilk/hindmilk issues if 1.)we
didn't use pumps and 2.)we truly practiced exclusive breastfeeding which means
allowing our babes free access to the breast.  However, I do understand why the
pump use is recommended for many women.

Again, I repeat there are the medicated births, the high-risk cases where the
woman experiences a large blood loss, the infertility women who become
pregnant due to technology advances, the women who are breastfeeding after breast
reduction.  These women may not be amongst the Aboriginal people of Australia,
and therefore, may not be pumping and not experiencing foremilk/hindmilk
issues.  So, I explain to moms the rationale for the extremes that we see, and I
highly encourage her to get back to basics.

I choose not to time feedings at my consults for these reasons.  I educate
moms on reading infant cues.  The other day, I started laughing because a mom
had attached a watch to the window blinds next to her rocking chair!  It looked
funny to me!  I'd never seen a watch on a window blind before, and I proceeded
to counsel her to take it down.

We all have a valued role in mentoring these young moms who lack their own
mothers' experience of breastfeeding to steer them towards relaxing with their
babies and following their mothering instincts in many ways.

Carol Chamblin, RN, MS, IBCLC
Breast 'N Baby Lactation Services, Inc.
St. Charles, IL

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