And the on the flip side:
There ARE women who are educated, question everything and let their wishes
be known. Certainly, my daughter, Larisa, has heard many horror stories,
alas, more so than the average, and knew that ANY intervention begins the
downward spiral of more interventions and more often than not, leads to a
Cesarean, all of which impacts breastfeeding. My daughter went into labor
naturally at 41wks. The baby was down in pelvis, 4 cms, 100% effaced with
her bag of waters bulging for the last 3 weeks of her pregnancy. She let
her OB know that she did not want to be induced unless there was a problem
and was scheduled for the following week (42wks) if labor did not begin
naturally before then. Many women that she came into contact with were
absolutely mortified that the doctor hadn't induced her, why put her body
through all this? Hopefully, she educated them about the importance of
waiting until the BABY is ready to be born. She had a natural, posterior
birth (you know what they say about payback?) I was honored to be present
for his birth. Andy, Larisa and I welcomed him into the world on June 23 at
5:55AM (he was waiting for the full moon). Drew weighed in at 7lb 15oz. I
can't begin to tell you all how proud I am of my beautiful, strong daughter!
I do think that education, communication and determination are the keys
that open the door to birth and breastfeeding being perceived as being the
norm. Larisa grew up attending La Leche League meetings and area
breastfeeding conferences, heard my side of thousands of phone
consultations and observed very few women bottle-feeding their babies. She
was not intimidated by her health professionals and kept communications
open as to what she hoped would be her birth experience. There is hope for
the future, in women who have only known the importance of natural birth
and breastfeeding. Moms who are responsive to their babies' needs are the
best role models in the world. Thank you to all the breastfeeding moms who
have helped me raise such a wonderful woman. We DO change the world one mom
at a time.
OH, and breastfeeding? Drew immediately went to the breast and at 4 days
was 8lbs 2oz. At his 2 week checkup he was 9lbs 9oz and had grown 2 inches
in height and head circumference. She never experienced sore nipples or
severe engorgement, milk in on the afternoon of day 2. Looks like it is
going well. She has had very few questions; acts like she has done the
mommy thing all her life.
Ellen Penchuk, IBCLC, RLC
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