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From:
"Shealy, Katherine" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 22 Jul 2003 09:17:45 -0400
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I had to weigh in on the comment that bottle warmers are unnecessary
appliances, and allow a slightly wider perspective.

Although it is true that bottle warmers are unnecessary for successful
breastfeeding, they go a long way psychologically to help those close to the
dyad to support breastfeeding.  I have worked with many fathers (my own dh
included) as well as daycare providers who felt overwhelmed by guidelines to
warm breastmilk under running water, etc.  Their perception was that
breastmilk needed lots of special care and attention, and it turned into
some kind of formidable task to *prepare* a bottle of breastmilk, whereas
formula was "so easy, you just dump it in and shake it up."

This perception makes it difficult for them to fully support a mom's efforts
to express and collect milk for later use while she is away.  The addition
of a "gadget" that makes it *so easy* is a lifesaver for them, and suddenly
*preparing* a bottle of breastmilk is also so easy!

I wholeheartedly agree that a mom does not need to be encouraged to use a
bottle warmer if her baby is receiving expressed milk, and that it is a
harmless device, or at least no more harmful than other safe heating methods
to the quality of the milk.  However, there are some people (certainly not
all members of any group, I am not making a sweeping generalization) for
whom a bottle warmer can help overcome a significant psychological barrier.

While we spend a lot of time (well, I do) thinking about psychological
barriers for women to nurse, and a lot of time (well, I do) thinking about
how to help others support women in their decisions to breastfeed, sometimes
we overlook the important psychological barriers of the supporters.  Bottle
warmers are one of those goofy things that grandma says to put on your
registry, because she had one (speaking from personal experience).  As kooky
as it sounds, a bottle warmer can help 'normalize' breastmilk for a family
already providing expressed milk to the baby. [my caveat is that obviously
and of course I would never advocate a family start expressing milk so that
a bottle warmer can be used]

One more aspect of the bottle warmer - techie boys (I mean men) think bottle
warmers are really cool.  You'd think they've never seen a hotpot before.

Katherine Shealy
T-6 days

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