Sue writes:
Were they? Or was this a sham? As lactation consultants, I doubt many
of us would have any problem Feeding the Baby, if the baby was indeed in
need of calories, STAT. Would we take Feed the Baby action at 5%? Highly
unlikely. At 10%? Probably not, unless we would see lethargy, etc. So
how can this excuse so blithely be accepted as appropriate- "the babies were
losing a lot of weight." No, they were not. I want to know why that belief
is allowed to sit out there so unchallenged. Or, was that part of the
purpose of the "study" in the first place? Define the terms and win the war?
~ Wow, Sue: "defining the terms and win the war" is so profound and so
well said. I kept thinking, "5 % is now considered 'losing a lot of
weight'? " By saying that babies are losing a lot of weight, the perspective is
forced into needing to supplement, rather than re-looking at what is or is
NOT a lot of weight loss...they start with a false assumption then justify
the intervention based on it. Yes we would all supplement a lethargic or
spiraling-down baby. The amount of wrong assumptions and assertions out
there is staggering, on both ends of the spectrum. I agree with Mary Kay, I
thought this would get easier as I got older and breastfeeding was
recognized by more folks as a critically important health issue. Nope. Still
have docs telling moms wrong information or very discouraging information in
the guise of being supportive and "laid-back" about breastfeeding.
"Pumping is a pain, don't bother,just breastfeed" with a baby who cannot move
more than 10ml at a feed before shutting down. "It's normal for babies to
lose up to TWENTY % of their birthweight, or not be back at birthweight at 3
weeks, or chew your nipples raw, ALL moms have pain in the first MONTH,
don't believe your lactation consultant about nursing being comfortable before
a month." Sigh. If they are defining the abnormal as normal, and the
normal as abnormal, moms and babies are always caught in the middle. I
think I spend a large portion of every visit trying to help a mom understand
why I am saying very different things than the other HCPs she's seen...
Thank you,
Peace,
Judy
Judy LeVan Fram, PT, IBCLC, LLLL
Brooklyn, NY, USA
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