LACTNET Archives

Lactation Information and Discussion

LACTNET@COMMUNITY.LSOFT.COM

Options: Use Forum View

Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 22 Nov 2013 11:18:44 +0000
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (88 lines)
Alice - I absolutely hear what you are saying. Just recently, I was 
contacted by a mother who had expressed milk long-term for her baby 
because of serious difficulties with 'direct'  breastfeeding.  She 
wanted to know how her feeding would be 'classified' and it was 
important for her to feel there was an official  difference between 
what she did, and how bottle feeding with formula was classified.

I told her that in international definitions, breastfeeding and 
bottle feeding with EBM are treated the same.....the baby who gets 
nothing but breastmilk by whatever means is counted in studies as 
exclusively breastfed.

She was very pleased at this.

BUT.

Breastfeeding and breastmilk feeding is *not* the same. We cannot 
fudge this, when sharing information with mothers when they are 
making choices.  Sparing the feelings of mothers who are unable to 
get breastmilk into their babies in any other way than with a bottle 
is a laudable aim but it does not help other mothers make an informed 
decision.

Mothers who express long-term should **not** be divided into categories of

i)women who have to because their baby has a cleft palate (for example) and

ii) women who make a lifestyle choice because breastfeeding direct is 
not appealing to them for some reason

because who are we to judge  which cartegory to place a mother in?

A mother who has a history of sexual abuse involving her breasts 
might make a 'lifestyle choice' not to battle these feelings but she 
is under no obligation to share her reasons; a mother with a baby who 
will not attach to the breast because of perinatal factors may decide 
not to keep persevering with direct, and may make a 'lifestyle 
choice' to use a pump instead....whatever, not everyone fits into a 
category and nor should we expect them to.

Instead, we need to support and enable women who want to/have to 
express long term, and explain to them that breastmilk is absolutely 
worth giving instead of formula. That their efforts are worthwhile, 
and their wonderful gift should be celebrated.....but their equally 
wonderful gift is their *presence* at the time of the feeding. 
Breastmilk feeding needs to be done *as if the mother was 
breastfeeding direct* when possible.

On purely bio-medical grounds, it means the mother shares the same 
pathogenic environment as the baby and therefore the antibodies she 
makes will go into the milk.

But on other *relationship* grounds, the baby whose exclusive bottle 
use means *anyone* can feed the baby, the baby whose exclusive bottle 
use means the mother can take a holiday away from him :( :( :(, the 
baby whose exclusive bottle use means he can go into day care at some 
ridiculously early age....is a baby who is *missing out* (and a 
mother who is missing out, too).

Mothers who are using bottles of EBM exlusively need to value their 
own presence and their own relationship with their babies. They need 
to give the bottle as if they were breastfeeding (skin to skin when 
possible, paced bottle feeding, responsive bottle feeding, bottle 
feeding in bed, in the bath and anywhere they want to be close). This 
will go some way to close the gap between the experience of direct 
breastfeeding and breastmilk feeding by bottle.  Mothers are 
*mothers* and not just suppliers of breastmilk.

Alice, your mothers need to know this too.....and they are more 
empowered by this than by a pretence that what they are doing is 'the 
same' and that the difference doesn't matter.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK

-- 

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome

ATOM RSS1 RSS2