Dear Gloria - it is my honor and pleasure to be quoted on your blog!
Tomorrow I am giving a power point presentation - two lectures - one on
Skin to Skin for the Healthy Newborn and the second : Kangaroo Care for the
Premature - for nurses and midwives and a few doctors at a breastfeeding
course in Tel Aviv ( an acknowledged course for IBCLC). For the first time I
am going to take a firm stand on my thoughts about those first two hours ,
with the support of the feedback I got from you and others.
Linda Smith wrote me, when I mentioned to her that the words of the 4th Step
of Baby Friendly put more emphasis on breastfeeding than skin to skin, and
I think it should be the opposite):
Take a look at how Step 4 is currently interpreted:
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2009/9789241594967_eng.pdf
Step 4: Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within a half-hour of birth.
Place all babies in skin-to-skin contact with their mothers immediately
following birth for at least an hour. Encourage mothers who have chosen to
breastfeed to recognize when their babies are ready to breastfeed, offering
help if needed. Offer mothers who are HIV positive and have chosen not to
breastfeed help in keeping their infants from accessing their breasts.
It's very clear from this interpretation that getting babies ONTO their
mother's bodies after birth is the point. What they DO once they're touching
mom's body is up to the baby and mother. Some will latch quickly; others
will take longer. Letting the mother & baby follow their instincts is key.
Our role is to STOP INTERFERING.
This is WAY more than your beliefs - the science on this is very clear!
Linda J. Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC, FILCA
Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre, Ltd.
So these past letters - yours and others - have come for me just at a
perfect time - and I appreciate your feedback very much...
CLOSE TO THE HEART and MIDWIFERY IN PEACE
Leslie
-----Original Message-----
From: Lactation Information and Discussion
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Birth
Sent: 27 November, 2009 23:31
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: IBCLC in the labor & delivery room
Leslie, may I have permission to put your wise words on my blog. I attend
only homebirths and have the same attitude. It's the skin to skin contact
and little (or big) noises of the baby that cause the uterus to contract
powerfully post partum. It is a sacred time right after birth that can
never be recaptured. When the mother and baby have warmth and privacy they
will "discover" each other and fall madly in love. This is the best child
protection method both in the short and long term. We are mammals. We must
sniff, lick, coo, cuddle, look at and hear our young. In turn, the baby
does many "pre-nursing behaviours"-climbing, licking, looking, hearing,
sniffing. . . who knows what they are doing because it's dark and private,
remember? How do I know this? Because I had it with 2 homebirths. Just
like sex, it has to be experienced to be believed. My mission in life is to
learn how to take my interference away from the mammatoto. Gloria Lemay,
Vancouver, BC
From: Leslie Wolff <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: IBCLC in the labor & delivery room
I was a midwife in the labor/delivery ward for 14 years - and am now a IBCLC
for the past four years - working as the coordinator of breastfeeding at my
hospital, meaning getting to Labor and Delivery also...mostly when the
midwives ask me if I can give some help...
I have a few of my own beliefs about breastfeeding immediately after
delivery. I feel that skin to skin after birth for the first two hours is
SO important -more important than making a big effort to get that baby to
breastfeed.. MAINLY because I realize that it helps the diad - mother and
baby - to recover from the birth experience, is a Win Win situation that
requires no effort , there is nothing to "succeed" in - it is just a "being"
situation that is beautiful for Mom and baby. And if the baby goes for the
breast - great..and if not, or the breast is offered and the baby doesn't GO
FOR IT - that's fine. .I also truly don't like to give "instructions/
advice" during those first two special hours..I know that proper latching is
important, but that mother JUST GAVE BIRTH - I could never see myself
"instructing her" - maybe a little helping the baby get the nipple farther
into the mouth , maybe a word here or there - there is plenty of time to
help her when she is in Postpartum ward - those first two hours after
birth seems like a special, quiet , almost holistic time ( having nothing to
do with the fact that the baby had a natural or very interventioned ( is
there such a word?) birth, maybe even a C-Section.....I know that babies
are "supposed to" "immediately" start breastfeeding beautifully - but I see
so many mothers and babies that are SO content just lying there Skin to
Skin, relaxing, bonding in their own special way. ( and in the past, before
I discovered the beauty of Skin to Skin ,I remember many frustrated
Moms and babies doing their best to breastfeeding, because Mom and Dad both
knew that was the best thing to do immediately after birth...)
I'm glad that you brought the subject up - because I too am interested in
how others " do it" during that first period after birth labor/delivery
ward, and am interested in any comments about what I wrote..
Close to the Heart
Leslie Wolff, Israel>>
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