When I am talking to an audience that I'm pretty sure has limited exposure to
breastfeeding (no pun intended!!), I point out to them that the "rules" of
breast vs bottle/formula management are different and that it doesn't work to
use the rules of one on the other. For example, with formula feeding, the
contents and amount in that bottle are set by whoever selects that particular
formula (dr? mom? hospital?) and the company that decides what ingredients to
put in it. In breastfeeding, it is the baby who "decides" by the way he sucks,
and his age what "kind" of milk he gets. Whereas mom (dr?) may dictate how much
formula baby gets through the bottle, thus defining for the baby what a "meal"
is, baby is in charge of that in breastfeeding. Unlike bottle/formula feeding,
baby (and mom) are the experts on breastfeeding--at least their experience.

I point out differences in positioning (how many sore nipples do we see from
moms who are bf their babies in a bottle-feeding position?), latchon and
position of tongue and nipple, and signs of a good feeding--for formula-fed
babies this means an empty bottle and a baby who sleeps for 3-4 hours, for
breastfeeding I mention listening for swallows, change in rate of suck-swallows
as milk lets down, uterine contractions, breast softening, relaxed baby, and the
need to eat again in 1-3 hours.

By approaching the subject in this way, I find I don't have to make a long
string of negative attacks on formula feeding to an audience that may well be
turned off if I do. By pointing out that the two approaches are different, that
seems to open the door for them to be willing to hear me out long enough to find
out decent management for bf. And the pitch for breastfeeding is pretty neat, in
and of itself. I am still awe-struck everytime I go through this kind of
explanation at what a wonderful system we have set up to feed our babies, if it
just isn't thwarted along the way....


Melissa Vickers, IBCLC
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