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Lactation Information and Discussion

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Subject:
From:
Johnston <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 10 Nov 1997 22:21:28 +1100
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I would like to concur with those who have written recently about women who have said they did not want to breastfeed, and changed their mind after the birth of the baby.  
I have seen this happen a couple of times recently.  One woman had a prem baby, about 34 weeks gestation, and was shown how to give "kangaroo care".  She noticed that her baby was actively seeking the breast, and asked if it would be alright for her to try breastfeeding!
Another time I was working in the birth suite of a hospital, and the woman I was caring for had informed the staff when she booked in that she had had big problems breastfeeding her first child and did not want to try with this child.  
After she had birthed her baby I asked her if she would like to hold him skin to skin.  She did.  There was no discussion of feeding, but the baby soon started his own effort to communicate his wishes.  There was no pressure on the mother, and she commented that her first baby had never seemed very interested in her breast, and she had to fight him at every feed.  She changed her mind, not in response to statistics or evidence supporting breastfeeding, but because she though her baby  was  keen about it.

We often don't know how firmly committed a woman is to her "plans" - she may just need support and a bit of space so that she can think about it differently.

Joy Johnston
Melbourne Australia

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