Ok – my oldest is only 23 so we are well below the age Diane mentioned…but
so many of the others stories mirror my own I thought I’d share my story too
because it doesn’t appear much had changed…

 

I had never seen a baby breastfeed.  I took no breastfeeding classes – they
weren’t offered.  I had no BF books – didn’t know they existed.  I had never
heard of LLL.  I had however, heard of breastfeeding.  I was 19, poor and
very naïve (clueless).  After a 4-6 hour separation after birth I had to
DEMAND my baby be brought to me.  He was clearly hungry.  I asked the nurse
to help – she (grumpily) told me to get my hands out of the way (I did –
picture arms up like you have a gun pointed at you…she was a true Nurse
Ratchet…!) grabbed my baby and shoved him screaming onto my breast.  Told me
to hold him (I did) and then left.  Great lesson, eh?  And that was the ONLY
help I got during a 3 day stay in the hospital…

 

We dealt with cracked and bleeding nipples for about 2 wks until it just
kinda solved itself…not sure how.  He nursed for 14 months, during which I
was told I was a lousy mother (by my mother and the guy I was dating – not
my kids father) for feeding him every 2 hours when he asked – so I was the
dutiful daughter and started stretching out feeds at about 2 months.  

 

He had reflux that went misdiagnosed for 18 months (to the point he had
started losing weight and was regressing developmentally) and ended up with
some serious feeding issues – I was never offered assistance for that.  In
fact, I was never offered any sort of education at all.  I look back often
times and wonder how that poor kid survived!  

 

So here we are 23 yrs later and I hear the same damn stories from other moms
with their first babies - they are coming to me with baby #2 and are
terrified that they will go through the same nightmare all over again and
they are now mad because the HCPs let them down with the first baby.  Common
story in my area sad to say…

 

Warmly,

Jaye

 

Jaye Simpson, IBCLC, CIIM

Breastfeeding Network

Sacramento, CA

www.breastfeedingnetwork.net

 


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