Dear Friends:
How many of us have heard that story about being patients stuck in a
hospital in a foreign country, immobilized after an accident by every limb being
in traction? We are stuck in bed, and unable to speak the language. We
depend on the body language communication and receptivity of the care takers for
our comfort. People don't understand us. How does that make us feel?
I saw such a scene today, with a 4-day old baby girl.
This girl was going crazy. She wanted to breastfeed. She rooted on
everything; she spat out the pacifier. She turned to mother's breast (where she
could smell milk) and tried to bore a hole through her mother's blouse. She
screamed. She wailed that universal baby sound for breast, that "unh-unh-unh"
that babies make while bobbing their heads. She turned bright red. She wouldn't
stop asking.
Her mother and grandmother hovered over her, rocking, saying soothing
words," You're okay baby, mommy (or nana) loves you, the bottle is coming".
They were waiting for the bottle in the warmer to get warm enough. Meanwhile the
baby was yelling out her request.
Mother and grandmother say that baby is "greedy", "wants to eat all the
time" and that "she has a temper".
I was powerless to do anything. I pointed out all the baby cues and
pleas that were requests to breastfeed. I suggested that putting baby to breast
would be less stressful, and quieter. I said that Zoloft was compatible with
breastfeeding as per the AAP. I said that I was really good with helping moms
breastfeed, and that I would call her every day.
No go.
This mom has a Boppy pillow, a glider with a glider footstool, and an
Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper. All the accoutrements of a breastfeeding mother, plus
she has milk, a baby and breasts.
No go.
Poor baby, fighting so hard to get what she needs. Instead, she gets
substitutes, which don't work for her. And she is getting a reputation as a
noisy, demanding baby, which is totally undeserved.
Thanks for listening.
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
Support the WHO Code and the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative
***********************************************
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
