Dear Friends:
    Here is a case where the baby seems to be angry  with the mother.
    First baby; failed induction ---->cesarean  section. (This is becoming a 
common birth scenario in the USA.) I came as  mother-baby nurse to see them 5 
days after the birth. She wanted to breastfeed;  the baby would have none of 
it. 
    At first I suspected that the hospital style method  of "helping" 
breastfeeding had derailed attachment. Baby would go to breast and  scream, arch 
back, and refuse. The mother does have grade I inverted nipples,  which will 
protrude after stimulation. This baby quickly became overwhelmed when  placed s2s 
on mother's chest. No way would he even approach the breast. She told  me that 
he didn't even want to be held by her at times. 
    She worked for a week with a hospital grade  electric pump and a nipple 
shield. She established a full supply. She comes from  Bermuda, where 
breastfeeding is the norm. 
    I went to see them again after 1 week. The baby  will, thanks to mother 
and father co-bedding, will now snuggle with mom. He has  latched on exactly 
twice (for good feeds) but usually freaks out and refuses the  breast. She can 
bottle feed him, and does it in breastfeeding style, holding him  and the 
bottle next to her naked breast. She has tried giving him 1/4 to 1/2 oz  via bottle 
before offering the breast, so he will have something in his tummy  and be 
calmer. He still won't latch. He will root vigorously on his dad,  but not on 
her.
    We did get him to latch briefly on a nipple shield  when he was held in 
an entirely new position: sitting upright, facing the  breast.
    Meanwhile, he is a pound over birthweight on a diet  of exclusive 
mother's milk, and cute and alert. 
    I wish I knew what was going on. I have encouraged  continued pumping, 
safe co-bedding, s2s, patience and persistence, no battles at  breast. CST while 
in her arms did not matter to this fellow. We didn't try  remedial co-bathing 
because they don't have a bathtub; we did s2s again, and he  did tolerate 
that much better than when I first met him.
    Any other ideas? 
    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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