I have to admit that this article bothers me a bit. While I agree that much of
breastfeeding is sabotaged with formula, 2 things strike me about this article.
The first is the mom's report that the lactation consultant said 'he's playing
with us, cut off the formula completely'. I don't know what was really said,
but this makes it look like little Franklin was playing them all for fools, and
never needed supplementation at all.
I spend sooooooo much time trying to convince moms that their babies are
not manipulative little so and sos. Your 4 day old baby is not doing whatever
he is doing because he is capable of the complex thought process needed to
manipulate you.
"he just cries to MAKE me pick him up" "He just wants to comfort nurse" "he
just won't sleep more than 2 hours" "He just wants to snack" it goes on and
on. As a culture, I feel we have come to see babies in such a negative light.
In point, I rarely have a mom call me and say "I'm worried little Joey isn't
getting enough milk" no, mom calls because Joey is keeping her from getting
sleep, or he is wanting to nurse too often (more than every 3-4hrs) which
really annoys her, or he cries even though he has just eaten, and he can't
possibly be hungry, he is just trying to manipulate her.
So, I read the article, and the mom says that the baby was not gaining
enough weight even with the formula so the lactation consultant tells her that
her baby is 'playing them' however, further down, she mentions how his suck
ratio was 1 to 5. Well, I don't know what happened, but if his suck ratio was
1 to 5 and he wasn't gaining weight well, that tells me that at that point he
was not able to transfer enough milk to sustain growth - either her supply was
low or his suck was ineffective or both.
I'm sure the formula compounded the problem, but this mother's perception, as
I read it, seems to be that little Franklin was playing them for fools, and not
that possibly her supply might have been low, or perhaps his suck
disorganized, after an emergency c-section.
I have had several moms whose babies were not getting enough milk, either
due to low supply, poor sucking, a combination, who have called after a time
and said that all was well, they had finally listened to their
sister/friend/neighbor, and just 'forced' little Jimmy to start working for their
food, they'd cut out supplement and pumping, and now little Jimmy is finally
behaving himself and actually working for a living, and could they come by for
a weight check to see how they are doing. When they come by, baby has
lost weight, and so often mom will say something about how little Jimmy is just
lazy and he'd better get it right and maybe she'll just quit and give formula.
So, I do get a little frustrated when I read an article like the Gourmet Food
one, because I think it might help to perpetuate this idea that babies are
capable of this kind of manipulative thought, and I find that that really feeds
into a society that already seems to see babies in a negative, demanding,
inconvenient light.
Just my 2 pennies.
Casey Clubb, RN, IBCLC
West Linn, OR, USA
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