Dear Lactnet Friends:

In my city, the largest group of non-native born mothers delivering at one
large hospital, are Chinese.

One-third of them will send their babies back to China. I don't know how
those mothers feel about this practice.

The attitude of "changing their mentality" implies that what Chinese
mothers believe and do is wrong. Cultural humility is another approach. We
can't use evidence to inform and expect change in a few days when cultural
beliefs work well for them in their own country. How can a hospital nurse
compete with her mother or mother-in-law?

There is no easy answer to this situation. Our babies do best with a
mammalian approach that calls for privacy in labor and birth, and
continuous, uninterrupted and undisturbed close contact for a few days.
Most cultures on earth, including ours, don't recognize or support this.

It is amazing that there is as much breastfeeding in US hospitals as there
is; a testimony to the power of change when polices and practices become
more evidence-based.

And we have to relax too. For nearly 100 years, the medical and hospital
systems have separated mothers and babies, and promoted bottle-feeding
formula. That can't change for everyone in just a few years.

warmly,

-- 
Nikki Lee RN, BSN, Mother of 2, MS, IBCLC, CCE, CIMI, ANLC, CKC
Reviews Editor,* Clinical Lactation*
www.nikkileehealth.com
https://www.facebook.com/nikkileehealth
*Communications are confidential and meant only for whom they are
addressed.*

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