THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Darillyn! For your insight into what I see
as a recent phenomenon in breastfeeding evolution.  I have been in this
business for 25 years and am very concerned about recent trends.  I used to
see mastitis maybe once every couple of years and then it was in a mom
whose baby was at least a few months old.  Now I am hearing from at least
one mom every couple weeks or so who has a full-blown mastitis and a 2 week-
old baby!  The history is the same - baby is nursing well, but mom is
pumping to increase her supply (why?  she states baby is gaining well);
pumping to see how much she is giving the baby; pumping so that she can
have a supply of milk;  pumping so that baby can be given a bottle every
day, and on and on and on.  What happened to exclusive nursing?  A mother
should be taught from day one (ideally, prenatally) that she is to practice
exclusive nursing and to ONLY use pump/bottle in situations where she is
separated from her baby (work, school, occasional night out).  At least 2/3
of the mothers I see are stay-at-home moms and never have I seen more
pumping done than among this population of mothers!  They are being told by
everyone from the lactation consultant to their doctor to their next-door
neighbor that they will not be successful with breastfeeding unless they
have (and use!) the top of the line breast pump.
I think lactation consultants are right at the top of the list of "selling"
the idea that nursing cannot occur successfully unless she is pumping,
using lanolin (what happened to mother's own milk?), breast shells, nipple
shields, galactagogues, supplementers, etc., etc., etc.  Not every mother
is going to have problems necessitating the use of these aids (and that's
what they are - tools or aids to the establishment of exclusive
breastfeeding!) so why are they pushed at mothers?
Nursing is not low-tech.  Nursing is no-tech:  a breast and a baby!  It's
sad that we apparently have lost sight of that fact.

Pam Hirsch, RN,BSN,CLC
Clinical Lead, Lactation Services
Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital
Barrington, IL  USA

who strives to put nursing back into the hands of mothers and their babies

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