When a mother expresses a desire to breastfeed, yet is reluctant to feed her
babies, that suggests to me that there is some emotional issue going on that
she needs some help with. Perhaps she feels overwhelmed by having twins,
perhaps she has had conflicted relationship with her mother for a long time
and is unhappy about being in the "mother role" because of that, perhaps she
feels too needy herself to meet the needs of her babies. It might be helpful
to talk with her about those feelings - to find out what she is feeling when
the baby gives hunger cues or time for a scheduled feeding and she is
unwilling to feed the  baby. Exploring those feelings with her might give
you some insights as to how to help her overcome them. I think that without
that exploration, these babies may be at risk of neglect no matter how they
are fed.

I recognize that there is limited time to spend with the mother, but does
the hospital have a social worker or counsellor or is there a LLL Leader she
might be referred to?

Teresa Pitman
Guelph, Ontario

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