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Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 12 Mar 2000 15:39:53 -0500
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I thought I would attach this letter I got today. For interest's sake. I
realize that mothers do not always understand what health professionals tell
them, and I have been quoted myself as saying things I would never have said
in a million years. But still, I think this woman's story tells volumes
about what is wrong with how we help mothers start breastfeeding and how we
deal with problems. I am not blowing my own horn because the mother really
did this on her own and didn't contact me until this letter. But what she
says should be of interest especially for LC's. Are we missing something in
what we expect from LC's in their training? After all, going a few days
without a bowel movement in the first few weeks usually (but not always) a
sign of poor intake. Surely even the least experienced LC should know this.
Also, depending on scales is a losing proposition, both for weight loss and
weight gain. We must depend on observation of breastfeeding, not the scale
and especially not the 7%, 10% or whatever percent is currently in vogue. Of
course, in many hospitals people call themselves LC's who are not, and that
could be part of the problem.

"Why in the world was I never told about this "open, pause, close" type of
sucking!!!  How is it that I could see my Pediatrician several times, a
lactation consultant at the hospital, and watch the hospitals "baby channel"
for 2 solid days and I still end up with a baby who wasn't gaining?!

"It was only because I have the internet and found your webpages that
"disaster was averted"!  After one of my usual 1 1/2 to 2 hour nursing
sessions I noticed my 3 1/2 week old daughter was still agitated and hungry.
Per my Ped. oc's request I gave her 2 1/2 oz.of formula.  Extremely
frustrated I began surfing the net in search of something....anything that
could enlighten me....I guess I felt something was missing.  When I found
your page and began reading I started to cry.  I had been starving my baby.
Inspite of HOURS and HOURS of time spent "nursing", my baby was only getting
a tiny portion of the perfectly adequate milk supply my breasts contained.
"So close and yet....so far away"!

"MY BABY WAS NOT LATCHED ON PROPERLY AND WAS NOT GETTING ENOUGH MILK!  Your
pictures and especially your emphasis on the "open, pause, close" type of
sucking was just what we needed.  I woke her up from her "formula induced
coma :o)" and hooked her up just the way your pages suggested and VOILA!
She was drawing in mouthfuls of milk right away!  I did have to use breast
compressions as my daughter had been latching on and sucking improperly for
3 1/2 weeks!  I anticipate compressing while nursing for a while until she
gains in sucking ability.  I also benefited from your suggestion to WAIT
UNTIL THE BABY OPENS HER MOUTH--WIDE!! I had been "chasing the baby with the
breast" and so she had never learned to do this properly--We are still
working on this each time.

"Bottom line is that inspite of my efforts to get help from LC's, nurses,
and my doctor;  No one asked to actually observe my latch-on and the baby's
sucking.  It didn't matter that I told them that I didn't think the baby was
latching on well.  The doctor said that some babies just don't suck well and
to begin supplementing with formula.  The LC said I was doing fine because
she had gained a few oz. over a few days and the other "signs" of getting
enough were there.  This, inspite of the fact that I told them she would go
24 hours without a BM quite frequently and that I felt she wasn't latched on
well and would slip off easily compared  to my other children.  The LC said
that some babies will go a day without a BM and because my nipples weren't
sore she was latched on properly (not so!!).

"I am a mother of 5 children and have nursed two children to 23 months. I
thought I was a pro and apparently so did everyone else and yet BF was
failing and my baby was almost starving.  It is only because of your
webpages that I now have hope to continue BF and my daughter can begin to be
nourished properly."

Actually not my web page, since I don't have one. But many websites do carry
my stuff.

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