Hi Kathleen and all,

Well, I checked out the website for parents of premies from Children's
Hospital at U of Wisconsin and looked at their breastfeeding information. Even
using 1987 standards (which is when I had my 26 weeker), the information
seemed really lame. I got much better info from the NICU where Katherine was.
Here's what I noted. There is no mention of the great benefits of
breastfeeding the premature infant. The website only says that you can BF a
premie. Pumping to supply milk for the baby is covered on one short paragraph
with *no* practical information whatsoever. No hospital-grade electric pump,
no double pumping, no pump rentals, no tips to enhance letdown, no advice on
breast massage prior to and during pumping,and the most glaring omission, no
info on the schedule for pumping/expression. Talking to an IBCLC or other
qualified lactation support person is never mentioned either. It states that
the baby may need the first milk feeds  by tube. The only readiness to suckle
criterion is gestational age of the baby; no real developmental information
here. It never tells anything about how to actually put the premie to the
breast. There is no reference to Paula Meier's work that shows that
breastfeeding is less taxing to the premie than bottling. There is no
information about how the mother can build up a low milk supply. Kangaroo care
has a little section, but there's no relating it to breastfeeding. At home,
the mom is told to expect to feed the baby every 2 1/2 to 4 hours. The use of
a supplementer is not mentioned for low milk supply or the baby with a weak
suck.

Mothers of premies deserve better information than this especially in light of
the research and experience of the last ten years or so. It's amazing to think
that the information and support that I received almost 11 years ago from the
NICU at Greenville Memorial were so much better than the breastfeeding
information on this website. If this were all the information that a mom had,
she would almost certainly fail at breastfeeding her premie unless she was
extremely lucky.

Warmly,
Carol Kelley  LLLL and mom to Katherine (9/8/87-8/9/88)
Taylors SC