Nikki
You probably said this to the mother, however I wanted to mention that I
find it very helpful to validate the mother's fears that the baby was
'starving.' I would suggest saying something like "that's pretty scary when
you see that the baby is still acting hungry and you feel you are not giving
him enough milk. If I thought my baby was hungry I'd feed him too."
I find most mothers do interpret their babies feeding cues correctly. Most
mothers can see when the baby is bf well and comes off sated. Even though he
wakes again in an hour or two he seems quite happy after the feed. This is
not always the case, however, sometimes the baby is lethargic and not
pooping and this is misinterpreted as content. It is why we ask all the
questions about full breasts, softer after, pees and poops etc. I let the
mom know that it sounds like she really did want to breastfeed and that we
can work together on getting there, we will make sure the baby does not
'starve.' Mothers who have had a bad experience w/ a jaundiced, poor
latching baby who was re-hospitalized etc will be very very fearful of bf
the next time, even if she gets good help and has a good latch etc. This is
a very scary thing for a mom, to think she is starving her infant.
I hope she returns to bf and enjoys it.

   << She said she'd stopped because baby was hungry all the time and she
didn't
have enough milk.
I replied instantly, "Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. What happened?"
    We discussed it some more. Sounded like she was misinterpreting baby's
feeding cues as signs of insufficient milk.
    I asked her to please reconsider, that she was making an important
health
decision for her baby, as important as using a carseat.>>

Laurie Wheeler, IBCLC, MN, RN
New Orleans Louisiana, s.e. USA

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