Dear Friends:
I visited a young, first time mother today who has no insurance. She and
her family are living with her cousin's family.
Times are hard in Guatemala; a man can work all day and earn $5, not
enough to feed a family. She, one of 11 children, got to finish 3rd grade, and
then had to stay home and help her mother. Her cousin translated for us, as
she doesn't speak English and my Spanish is not all that helpful.
She is breastfeeding on both sides, then giving 2 ounces of formula
because she is interpreting a cluster pattern as meaning she doesn't have enough
milk.
We talked about life in Guatemala, where mothers breastfeed and sleep
with their babies, and about how mothers loose the habits of their native
country when they come to the States.
She took some coaxing, and did lie to breastfeed, which was very
comfortable for her.
I came out of the closet, finally. I said that mothers in Guatemala
were smart and that formula was not good for babies, that it made them sick and
increased the chances of them dying. We 3 had a big discussion about this;
the cousin had bottlefed because she had to return to paid employment. This new
mother can stay home with her baby.
We talked about the choice, and what kind of choice is it between the
best food for a baby and the worst?
I am sick and tired of pussy footing around. I am in her home as a
healthcare professional, all the evidence is behind breastfeeding, and I said
that, strongly. I helped her to be comfortable with breastfeeding, took my time
(over 2 hours), gave her Spanish handouts from the terrific Massachusetts BF
Coalition website about making milk and s2s, and talked about how life is hard
enough, being an immigrant, with no close family around, and being on public
assistance. Breastfeeding is a way for this mother to make her life a little
easier. I hope she thinks about it.
The cousin was at the birth. Can you believe that at a major teaching
hospital in PHiladelphia, a nurse asked her what birth control she was using
before she got pregnant............while she was in labor! (She had an
unmedicated birth, opening up all the way before the epidural team could get going.)
And she was given a shot of Depo-Provera before she left the delivery room!!
No one asked her permission or gave her an explanation. Both the mother
and the cousin said that they were told she was going to "get a shot to keep
from getting pregnant" BOOM and it was given.
still steaming..........
warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE
Maternal-Child Adjunct Faculty Union Institute and University
Film Reviews Editor, Journal of Human Lactation
www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com
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