In a message dated 10/6/2005 8:06:49 AM Eastern Daylight Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

I for  one am really looking forward to seeing it.  The latest  "wrinkle"  in 
my neck of the woods is "threatening" moms that if the baby  doesn't  
breastfeed 
in x period of time they will have to give  formula to prevent the  blood 
sugar from going down.  Mind you,  they haven't even DONE a  chemstrip....but 
the 
baby is over 8 pounds,  therefore the blood sugar will go  down if the mother 
doesn't nurse  every three hours on the dot.


Dear Friends:
    Why is formula the answer? Why ignore that every  mother has colostrum in 
her breasts at delivery? Even moms that can't make a  full supply of mature 
milk will have colostrum. Drops of colostrum will bring a  baby's blood sugar 
up and keep it up longer than any formula; this is evidence  based knowledge.
    There are many studies showing that supplementing  in the hospital 
reduces breastfeeding duration and exclusivity. 
    Having the mother hand-express her colostrum onto a  spoon and give it to 
the baby has only beneficial impact. She learns a useful  skill, gets used to 
handling her breasts (which will make learning breast  self-examination 
easier). She sees she has milk. She sees that her milk is  valued because every 
drop on the spoon is given to her baby. Her baby, even if  asleep, can be fed. 
Often, a few drops of colostrum can wake a sleepy baby,  especially if combined 
with s2s. And her baby is exclusively human, mother's  milk fed.
    Doing some s2s first gets the mother's hormones  flowing and puts her in 
the green zone (parasympathetic). Then hand expressing  is easier.
    I have a squishy breast model (our local ILCA  affiliate, PRO-LC, sold 
them at ILCA this summer) that is perfect for  demonstrating this skill.
    Reinforcing that this newborn milk is thick like  honey and only comes in 
drops and is equivalent to ounces of milk helps her  confidence too.
    warmly,

 
Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE
Maternal-Child Adjunct  Faculty Union Institute and University
Film Reviews Editor, Journal of Human  Lactation
www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com

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