At 11:28 AM 12/1/98 -0500, you wrote:
>>>> Posting number 33468, dated 30 Nov 1998 20:58:48
>Date:         Mon, 30 Nov 1998 20:58:48 -0800
>Reply-To:     Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
>Sender:       Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
>From:         jeanne hagreen <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject:      half time nursing strike (long)
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>
>Colleagues,
>I am perplexed at a problem a mother has presented with.  She has a
>four-month old baby who refuses to breastfeed at any time of the day or
>night if he is awake.  He happily breastfeeds in his sleep, easily
>draining his mother's breasts.  However, if he wakes up during this time
>and "discovers" he is nursing, he lets go of the breast.  He is not
>upset at this time and unless his mother attempts to press him to take
>the breast, he does not become fussy.  If he is awake and seems hungry,
>he will latch for only a brief time and then turn away.  This started
>happening about two weeks ago.  His mother takes him to a sitter two to
>three times a week for three hours, something she began to do about
>three weeks ago.  She will be teaching at the local university in
>January two days a week.  She pumps her breasts when she is away from
>the baby and the sitter feeds him by bottle when she has him.  Now, I
>know everyone will say this baby is nipple confused or on a nursing
>strike, but why will he take the breast when he is asleep but not when
>he is awake and why will he breastfeed well at night?  His mother states
>she would like him to breastfeed directly from her but if he will not,
>she is quite prepared to feed him expressed breastmilk by bottle.  The
>bottle is her chosen alternate method for feeding and she is unprepared
>to think of any alternate methods.  Her milk supply is unaffected by all
>of this as she has been pumping when the baby won't feed.  She felt he
>might be distracted by his older sister, but has not found that feeding
>him in a quieter environment helps.  Any suggestions anyone?

>Jeanne Hagreen, RN, IBCLC
>Prince George, BC, CANADA
>"One LC in the wilderness - it seems less wild since the Stepping into
>Baby Friendly Conference in Vancouver"

Hi Jeanne,
 My first thought was - maybe he doesn't like what he's looking at!! My
second was - I really don't know what's going on but he has a good reason
for it and the mother should just be patient until they both work this through.
Kathie Lindstrom


>>>> Posting number 33474, dated 1 Dec 1998 19:03:00
>Date:         Tue, 1 Dec 1998 00:19:03 -0500
>Reply-To:     Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
>Sender:       Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
>From:         Sharon S Knorr <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject:      censorship
>Comments: To: [log in to unmask]
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>Content-Type: text/plain
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>
>Carol,
>
>You are so right about parents looking for validation for what they
>already think is right.  I have gotten to the point, after all these
>years, of not really trying to change people's minds so much as providing
>validation for whatever little spark  of "knowledge" that I see or hear
>and to fan that spark as much as possible.  Sometimes it bursts into a
>flame, sometimes it slowly fizzles out.  We can only do so much.  A good
>friend of mine had a baby.  There is no doubt in my mind that this baby
>is dearly loved and well cared for by the whole extended family.  But
>breastfeeding was not even a consideration, sleeping through the night
>(alone) an early, important goal, etc.  This kind of parenting I cannot
>understand, but she could not understand anything that I did, either.  It
>is obvious in my breastfeeding classes that only a small portion of moms
>are planning to exclusively breastfeed, except for the first few weeks.
>Many are going back to work, want to know about bottles and pacifiers,
>etc. But they are enthusiastic about breastfeeding and I hope that they
>will get off to a good start and that some of them will fall in love with
>breastfeeding and attachment parenting the way I did.  Most probably will
>not.  But I find that even those that just nurse for a few months, if it
>goes well, are enthusiastic and plan to nurse the next baby.  Why they
>wean so early is a mystery to me, except that they just don't seem to
>want to spend the time and it is assumed by many, in spite of what I tell
>them in class and what they read in the books, that nursing is something
>you do just in the beginning when the baby is very young.  There is
>always the assumption that formula will be introduced at some point.
>
>Anyways, this is getting long and I have no solution (obviously).  Sadly,
>I am doubtful of any large scale return to long-term breastfeeding in the
>future.  It seems to me that unless the medical community is willing to
>get behind a SERIOUS push for breastfeeding, that technology and
>"super-duper" formulas will be the wave of the future.  At least,
>breastfeeding seems to be hanging in there.  Don't get me started on
>where childbirth practices have ended up in the last 10 years.
>
>Peace
>Sharon K.


Hi All,
 In working with bfdg women and familes for the past 17 years, I can enter
in so well to what you are saying.  I was sure I would be part of changing
the  breastfeeding culture forever and of course they would all want to
breastfeed until their children went to school - or came home at recess if
necessary...NOT.
In teaching prenatal I had come to the place if I saw the light come in on
one or two out of 14 - I was happy. Then I started seeing a pattern in the
majority of these parents and that was that they were trying to
intellectualize something that I was trying to teach as intuitive and
instictive.  Right brain -left brain. When the discussion came up in class
about the benefits of bfdg. we always seemed to tip toe around the hazards
of using arififical milk or bm substitutes.  I could come out looking very
biased and the information would not be well received if I really got on my
band wagon and told the truth.  So now I have it in a handout for them and
it is well documented and easy to read.  The comments have been - "why
aren't we told about this"  "this is like giving your kid a chemical diet
(after reading labels)"  " I would be furious is I chose to not breastfeed
and then someone told me about this"  so...... often there are those that
are so afraid of making the mother feel guilty" ( I hate that line!!!!) that
the most  important of information is often glossed over or nor presented.
We are doing a survey in our region right now and I am very anxious to see
if the duration rates have changed as we have such good inititiation rates.
Information is power and it needs to be the parents power - so lets keep
giving the information and education however and whenever we can andlike the
starfish story - it's one at a time!  "Breast steps"
Kathie Lindstrom
BC (Breastfeeding Capital :) )







Kathie