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Date: | Sat, 5 Jul 1997 23:45:00 GMT+0200 |
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Anne's 3 week old prem baby who is "breaking the seal" during breastfeeding,
"refusing" to return to the breast after only 5 minutes or so of feeding and
"screams and screams and screams" sounds mostly like a baby who is not
getting enough to eat. While it is good that this mother-baby pair are
receiving some help and support in what sounds like a horrendous situation,
I echo Jay's and Barbara's concerns about attempting to provide effective
help by remote control.
Is there no LC close enough to this mother that could *see* what is
happening during an actual breastfeed? The Dx of "colic" when a baby
appears to refuse the breast, but screams, really concerns me - so often the
baby is truly hungry but the mother has difficulty co-ordinating everything
so that the baby can latch easily, and the baby becomes more and more
frustrated. Clicking (breaking the seal) is also a sign of a faulty latch.
I would want to see the baby's oral anatomy, the size and shape of the
mother's nipples/breasts, how the baby is positioned, how adept the mother
is at bringing the baby on to the breast at *just* the right moment, how the
breast is presented and supported throughout the feeding, evidence of milk
transfer ... Nursing a premie is *very* different from nursing a toddler,
perhaps the mother expects it to be "easier" than it is .. there could be a
thousand little things going on that the mother is unaware of and thus
doesn't know how to look for, let alone describe. This mother needs
hands-on assistance with latching, interpreting baby's cues, and
individualised guidelines to enable her to monitor baby's intake/output,
weight etc - and quickly.
Pamela, Zimbabwe (still smarting from the experience of having one of my
clients - also with a premie - seek breastfeeding help on internet instead
of following up with her LC!!!)
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