Hi wise ones, I am an RN & IBCLC in
Northeast FL. (30 miles north of Jacksonville) and have been lurking for over a
year. I wanted to share a comment from my last breastfeeding prenatal
class. One of my moms asked if she could share with the class her
strongest reason to breastfeed. It left us all amazed and she gave me
permission to share it with y'all. She was born in 1959 in a hospital
outside Chicago. There were 11 babies born during that same day. Of
the 11 newborns only she and her mom's roommate were breastfeeding. All
other babies were on formula when suddenly they got very sick. Her mother
remembers seeing 9 little bodies being carried away in hearses just before she
and her roommate were discharged immediately (remember this is when you stayed 5
days). The hospital feared some horrible nosocomial infection.
Her mom later found out that there was a major error in the formula (she didn't
know if it was a staff error or formula company error) but the babies all died
from massive fluid/electrolyte imbalance. The only reason she survived is
that she was breastfed. Her dh was practically in tears as she told the
story. He just said, "Thank God her mother nursed her!"
That was the best advertisment for breastfeeding I could ever ask for. It
certainly made an impact on the class. Just wanted to share that. I am the
only LC in my county but have a lot of support from the wonderful LC's in
Jacksonville. I work with WIC and Healthy Start as well as an educator for
our hospital here on Amelia Island. I love what I do and am so glad to
have Lactnet for support. Happy New Year, Kym Dunton, RN, BA,
IBCLC