March, 2018 - La Leche League New Zealand

Fully Breastfeeding Amber after Latching-On Problems

Post category:Challenges
Reading time:8 mins read

Amber was born on New Years Eve 2001, at home, in the water under a
beautiful, fullmoon sky. Everything went as planned and Amber had her first
breastfeed half an hour after birth. Amber and I bonded instantly and I knew
that I wanted to breastfeed her as it was best for her health. It’s natural and
comforting and what better way to show my baby how much I love her.
I had read breastfeeding books and talked to my midwife, Heather, about
feeding and thought that I was prepared. The first few days Amber fed quite
well and I was starting to get the hang of it, Heather had explained to me that
breastfeeding is a skill that has to be learned and that Amber and I were
teaching each other.
Around day three, things started to go wrong and I couldn’t latch Amber on
properly, so my nipples were being grazed. The next day, when Heather came
to see us she told me to make absolutely sure that Amber’s mouth was
opening wide and to make sure she was getting enough breast in her mouth.
She also said that if it hurt me, to take Amber off and try again, (and again and
again…) until it didn’t hurt and felt comfortable. I found that every time
Heather was present Amber would latch on well and we had really good
feeds, but I couldn’t get it right all the time and it was when Heather wasn’t
there that I was having real problems.
After about a week my nipples were sore and a bit damaged though no worse.
In week or two everything went down hill really fast. My nipples got badly
damaged and Amber wanted to feed all the time with only an hour or so rest in
between. When Amber latched on, it hurt so badly that I would get a very
intense pain right up my arm and into my elbow and shoulder. My toes would
curl up and tears usually followed. My letdown was being affected because I was so tense and I could never
relax due to the pain, which then led to supply worries. I was getting very
distressed so I rang Heather again and she came to see us. She was really
surprised how in a matter of 48 hours my nipples could get so damaged. They
went from moderate damage to extreme damage almost over night, (although
it felt a lot longer than that at the time). We decided, after much deliberation, to use nipple shields for a while to
protect my nipples from further damage and to hopefully give them a chance
to heal. Heather told me to let the shields do their job then throw them away
before I got too dependant on them, because long term use can effect supply.
The shields were lifesavers, it still hurt when the nipple got sucked through the
shield but it helped Amber and I get it right.
The next step was to get my supply back up so we got some lactogogue tea,
lots of food, snacks, water, rest and breastfeeding. It was working. We were
getting there, life was a little better and the tears were less. Amber was not
gaining as much weight as we would have liked, but we had sorted out some
major problems and were confident that great progress had been made. We
were on the way up and Amber was a happy alert baby.
Then other members of the family became concerned about Amber’s weight.
They said that she needed formula, that I should get my milk tested (because
it was not good enough), and because my sister couldn’t breastfeed maybe I
couldn’t either, and that Amber would get Cystic Fibrosis etc, etc. The last
straw was when they told us that since Amber could not speak they would
have to be her voice. This really hurt and upset us, and all the great progress
we had made recently went straight down the toilet. I started feeling really
guilty, that I wasn’t a very good mother, and that I had failed. The emotional
pressure was huge so back came the tears and a small dose of depression
just to top it all off as out came the formula.
Knowing how determined I was to breastfeed Amber, Heather expressed her
concerns about the fact, that, if I gave up now after all the hard work that I
might regret it later. I totally agreed. We started supplementing Amber with
two bottles a day. It was very hard to do. I thought that once I started that
would be it and the formula would take over. I was determined not to let this
happen. Heather told me to make sure to express when Amber had formula
and feed this to her as well to get some good weight gains. Family pressure
was still major, so it was suggested that we go to see a paediatrician to get
Amber checked. Heather and I knew Amber was fine but we agreed a
checkup might help put all our minds at rest.
I was dreading going to the paediatrician and thought he was going to tell me
to give up breastfeeding altogether, (actually it was quite the contrary). I
explained everything to him and then he checked Amber. He said she was
fine and gave me a few things to look out for. He was very pro breastfeeding
and told me to keep doing as I was and to drop the formula when I was
comfortable. He told me to feed Amber on demand, which was what I was
doing anyway. He also said to try not to listen to what other people think is
right for Amber and he was more than happy to talk to family about their
concerns. I felt like a huge weight had been taken off my shoulders and, more
so, my mind.
Life was still pretty hard and there was so much pressure and stress in getting
my nipples healed, supply up and feeding going properly. Michelle, my
student midwife, suggested La Leche League and got Debbie’s number for
me. I rang Debbie and explained everything to her and she gave lots of help,
information, encouragement and support. Debbie suggested switch nursing
for a couple of days to help give my supply a real boost. It really worked and
Amber was doing better with lots more dirty nappies. My nipples were now
healed and it was time to get rid of the shields. It was scary but I knew it was
time. I started feeding every second feed without the shield, as my nipples
were still a little sore. After a few days I became more confident and gave the
shields back to Heather. It was a great day. My milk supply then picked right
up and can you believe it I was even leaking!
Heather visited an extra week to make sure our girl was still having weight
gains, lots of wet and dirty nappies and to make sure I was a happy mum. The
last visit was sad because Heather had become my friend and her support
was just amazing. Her last written words in our birth story were:
“Your strength and determination to do what you believe is right for Amber is
amazing, you have a beautiful, healthy daughter, enjoy every moment of what
you have worked so hard to achieve. Arohanui, Heather.”
At 11 weeks out went the formula and Amber was a happy, healthy, fully
breastfed baby. We had made it. It was the most rewarding goal I had ever
achieved and I am so proud that I stuck to my beliefs. I went to my first La
Leche League Meeting when Amber was four months old and couldn’t believe
the amount of support I got from other mothers and a great bunch of Leaders.
I have made some new friends and I am enjoying going to meetings and
hopefully helping someone else feel supported.
Sometimes I feel sad when I think about the first few weeks but actually
writing my story has helped a lot and made me feel proud that I didn’t give up.
I want to say a huge thanks to: Heather for all her help, love, support,
friendship, extra visits and phone calls; Debbie for all her help over the past
two years and for introducing me to LLL; and my husband who stood right by
my side every step of the way. Thank you so much.
I have learnt a great deal over the past two years and now have the
knowledge to look forward to breastfeeding again early in 2004. I now know
where to go for support. I can only remind myself that the negative things
have turned positive through being introduced to LLL.

Leanne Kennedy, Cambridge
Aroha September/October 2004

Coping with a Prem Baby

Post category:Challenges
Reading time:6 mins read

I would like to share my experience so that it may help anyone out there who has been told that you cannot breastfeed a premature baby.

I had six weeks to go and I was enjoying myself at a Warrior’s game at Ericsson Stadium. Half way through the game the pain in my back started. My thoughts were that the baby must be sitting in a funny position, causing me discomfort and I tried to ignore it. At 11pm the same night I thought maybe there was more to it and rang my backup midwife as my midwife was on holiday at the time. The next morning I met the midwife in hospital and yes, unfortunately, I was in labour. Things slowly, very slowly, progressed. The doctor at the hospital did not see any reason to stop the labour, as the baby was a good size.

Forty-one hours later my beautiful baby boy, Antony, was born at six pounds six ounces (2.89kg); a good size for a prem baby. I got to hold him for about 30 seconds before he was taken away for testing. I kept saying I wanted to put him straight on the breast but this just fell on deaf ears. He was taken to SCBU (Special Care Baby Unit) and put in an incubator just as a precaution. I was told he was very healthy.

The next day was when things became emotionally exhausting for me. I was expressing every three hours to try to bring on my milk. Being so early my body was not yet ready for this. Antony came out of his incubator and went into a cot.
He had a tube up his nose going down to his tummy to feed him, to my horror, formula. I was getting a little bit of colostrum but not enough to feed him completely so he was topped up with formula.

I spent all day and night with him until I had to sleep. That was the hardest time.
Everyone around me in the room had a baby and I felt, after a not so normal birth experience, that I had nothing to show for it. A lot of tears were shed over this week. I’ll never forget crying in bed one night when a nurse came along and asked me if I was OK. I said, “No.” and she asked me if I would like a Panadol. You can imagine what went through my mind. There really should be a separate ward for mums with prem babies.

On day four my milk came through, to my delight. Breastfeeding had always been the only option in my mind. It’s funny, I always thought, you put the baby to your breast, they latch on and hey presto, baby feeding. Boy was I wrong. The nurses at Middlemore Neonatal Unit were a great help. It’s just that they each had their own style. One would say, “Do it this way.” You would try that, then on the next shift the nurse would say, “Not like that, try this way,” and I really didn’t need anymore confusion at this time. Luckily I am a strong person and I put my foot down and said, “This way feels right and this is the way I am going to pursue”. One night I was upset because I had a nurse who didn’t have many patients and insisted on tube feeding my baby. I felt he was not going to learn if he was given the easy way out all the time.

Finally my original midwife (Lesley) came back from holiday and things took a turn for the better. I could not praise her enough. She suggested that to help Antony with latching on I first express to soften the breast, because I was expressing so often I was over producing milk and my breasts were quite firm. She also suggested using a nipple shield to help with latching on. To my relief this worked; not fully, but enough to take the tube out of his nose and allow him to be topped up using a cup. I could see the looks on some of the nurses’ faces but I didn’t care. Day six ended my stay at Middlemore, which had really felt like a prison sentence, and I was transferred to Botany Downs Maternity Unit. Then things got so much easier and better. I think I relaxed more knowing there was no longer the option of a tube being put down Antony’s throat. The charge nurse was excellent and worked well with Lesley, together making things happen.

By about day nine Antony was fully breastfeeding without the nipple shield. I was so proud. Each feed took about one and a half hours and I had to feed every three hours so it was exhausting but definitely worth it.

There were mothers in there that I spoke to who gave up trying after two days with a full term baby, saying it was too hard or that it hurt. Each to their own but I do feel that people give up too easily.

In my mind from the time I fell pregnant the only option was to breastfeed. As a child I was not breastfed due to my mother having a bad experience with my older sister. Today I suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and wonder if this is due to formula. So you can see why I was going to take every precaution possible to avoid this happening to Antony.

I successfully fed him until he was 15 months old and I am now pregnant with number two, due in October. I’m hoping to go full term but this time I will be much stronger and wiser with my opinion.

So to anyone out there with a prem baby I would like to say don’t give up. It’s never too late to start breastfeeding even if it takes a week or two for your baby and you to learn to latch on. If I can be of any help please don’t hesitate to contact me through LLLNZ.

Lastly I would like to thank La Leche League for all their support. To be honest my antenatal classes put me off ever contacting LLL and made LLL women out to be a bunch of alternative hippies that breastfed until their babies were ten. This ignorance needs to change. A friend from my coffee group convinced me to go one day, which took a lot, as I was not confident about feeding in public.

The women in the LLL Group all made me feel so welcome and comfortable, with great helping hints for breastfeeding. Learning to feed in bed was the best thing.
So thank you La Leche League, for all your support.

I hope my story helps anyone out there coping with a premmie and I wish you all luck.

Tania Cross, Howick, Auckland
ArohaMay/June 2004

Childfree Wedding Invite

Post category:Challenges
Reading time:13 mins read

“A good friend of mine has invited my husband and me to her wedding in a few months’ time. The invitation, however, is not extended to my 13 month old, from whom I have never been separated for more than an hour or two. My little boy is still nursing frequently and I am not at all happy about the thought of leaving him with anyone in order to attend the wedding.

I have tried to explain to my friend why I don’t want to leave my toddler but it was clear from her reaction that she didn’t understand – she appeared hurt and offended. I really do value our longstanding friendship but equally cannot contemplate separating from my toddler at this stage. What have other mothers done in similar situations?”

Responses

Janette Busch, Christchurch – Some mothers have coped with this situation by having a friend, relative or usual babysitter close by looking after the baby (in a car, at a playground, etc) and then this person contacts the mother if the child needs her. There are often quite large gaps between the ceremony and the reception that mum can visit with the child so the actual time away need not be very long. Expect too that as long as the bride sees the mother at the ceremony and the reception at least once she will have no idea if the mother was away for a short time.

Verity Osborn, Christchurch – I have been in a similar situation with a good friend and her wedding. My little girl was 10 months old at the time and also a very frequent feeder. My friend had been a very good friend to me over the years but had not had children and did not quite understand my need as a mum. I met a compromise by attending the wedding with my parents in tow as my husband was a full time university student and could not assist because of exams.

I attended the ceremony while my little girl slept in the buggy and my parents took her for a walk in the surrounding suburbs and park. I then fed her and spent some time with them before being dropped at the reception where I had a celebratory drink and some nibbles and went back to my parents who patiently waited nearby at the ready. I managed an hour or so at the reception before the wee one had just had her fill for the day.

My friend was happy to see me there and appreciated the effort I made. I felt I had made the effort for my friend and my little one was not compromised. Not the ultimate way to attend a wedding but it was the just the way it had to be at that time in my life. My parents were very obliging and realised the situation I was in and wanted to help for a few hours of one day.

Anita Edwards, Upper Hutt – For me there would have been two options and of course hindsight makes it really easy to say now! My kids are now five and ten years old. I am a long term breastfeeder and the five year old is still having a two minute suck at night (bar the odd night I am at a meeting).

I would have to think whether our friendship had a future, not just a past, she may understand once she has kids or she still may not.

I suffered long term post natal depression with both my children, so my early on experiences of not leaving them are somewhat skewed from that. I think that it would have been good for both me and my oldest (I got a bit more relaxed with my second child), if I had gone out occasionally and left him with people I trusted. With my PND the trouble was that I didn’t trust anyone (not even my husband!). Once, for my husband’s work function, we hired a room at the same hotel and my brother babysat for us, so I knew I could pop back easily if needed and not be missed from the event.

It’s a really tough call and if you do choose to leave your baby with someone, he won’t be damaged from the experience even if he cries for a bit and is upset, but find someone that you trust who will follow the timeframe you choose for how long to leave it till they contact you. And maybe have a few practise tries, it does get easier and the time apart from my kids always makes me appreciate them even more. Good luck with your decision, you aren’t alone in not wanting to leave your child.

Catherine Butler, Martinborough – This can be a tough one. So often, before we have children ourselves, we really don’t even begin to understand how important a part of our lives they can become, and how sometimes a seemingly independent toddler really still needs his Mum very close, to check in with for those regular feeds.

We’ve been to a few weddings with our now two year old. Fortunately she was invited and was able to be a part of the day quite happily and slept in my arms/her buggy for a lot of it, even sitting quietly at the top table for one. So if you do get the chance to broach the subject with your friend, try to find out why she doesn’t want your little one there. I know I was sort of anti-kids at my own wedding many years ago. I was afraid of having loads of screaming toddlers running round the place on my “special day”. Maybe you could reassure her of your little one’s behaviour if that is the case.

Another idea, if your friend is determined, is to have a relation or friend your little one knows well (or even your husband if there is nobody else you would feel happy leaving him with) mind him someplace nearby (e.g. hotel room) and you can go and meet them throughout the day to give him a little feed. More recently we attended a wedding and my parents were able to come along and stay in the hotel (bit pricey, I know) and minded my little girl for the church part. We checked in with her throughout the day when she wanted to, and I nursed her to sleep in their hotel room that evening and went downstairs to continue dancing.

I appreciate this is a really difficult situation; you don’t want to offend a good friend, and yet leaving your son for a whole day-night would seem catastrophic to him. This would ideally be something your friend would come to understand, and you could come to an agreement with her as to how you could manage to attend the wedding and have your son with you (or nearby).

I really hope you can work it out. I’d also recommend wearing an outfit you can feed easily in eg, a two piece, or dress with loose top you can strategically drape a wrap or scarf over.

Alicia Poroa, Christchurch – It can be challenging when faced with the differing needs of those we care about. I experienced a similar situation with a cousins’ wedding and I did go along with my two littlies, but this was after I expressed that I could not leave the children with anyone and come to the wedding. They decided they would rather have me at the wedding, than not and allowed the children to attend. I expressed to my family my fear of leaving the children and the anxiety that I would face if I did leave them. I also acknowledged some of the concerns that my cousin could have regarding having the children attend. An example of some concerns could be the cost of extra catering, children affecting the ambience of the wedding, that you may not enjoy yourself and the seating plans.

What you could do in regards to the probable concerns is assure your friend that you have thought these out and ways to overcome them. For example, having your wedding guest partner (assuming you are taking someone) take your wee one out for a walk or play when it gets too much, like during the ceremony. Or having a stroller or baby wearing sling or pack for settling and showing her that you are a talented breastfeeder who can feed inconspicuously at the best of times (if that’s a concern).

I think that if you give her a chance to think it over and acknowledge her fears, the situation will mend itself with time. It could be that she has so much to think about, the stress and overload is a barrier to making a decision that works for you all. If this is an enduring friendship then you will get through it and still have your relationship. Another experience that I will share is that sometimes relationships change after having children as well. I hope you have a lovely time with your little one whatever the decision.

Joy Elliot, Upper Hutt – I see this as being similar to having to work. Try to take the emotion out of the situation and not be offended by your friend’s reaction by thinking about what options could work for both of you. This way you can respect your friend’s view and still love your toddler and yourself.

Maybe have a friend take your toddler to a park or fun place nearby and when they need feeding have your friend pop back with your son so you can feed him in a foyer or similar quiet place inside the wedding/reception venue. If it is at night this may be trickier. You may need to think about going to the wedding/reception and leaving early so everyone is happy. I hope you find a happy solution for all of you.

Rowena Harper, Hamilton – Gosh, what a terrible predicament. Although I can’t offer any advice from experience, perhaps you could tackle her wedding in two parts: the ceremony, where the odd squawk shouldn’t worry anyone (after all this is the bit that is theoretically open to the public in order to ‘speak now or forever hold your peace’) and the breakfast, with all the speeches, dinner and dancing.

Perhaps accept the invitation to the ceremony on behalf of you and your toddler (then you get to see the important teary bit), and decline the reception as you want to respect her wish to not have children attend. You could also add to the reply that as much as you would love to attend, right now, circumstances dictate that you are not able to separate from your child. If she is adamant about having no children, she will accept your compromise.

Yes, she might not understand now, but good friends get over the bad times, and hopefully one day, she will be blessed with children too and might come to understand your decision.

Karen Silvers, Christchurch – I too have not wanted to be separated from my young children and found little support or empathy from others. This also applied to my desire to meet my children’s needs at night and to breastfeed them in general. One wonderful LLL Leader once told me that not wanting to leave my young children with anyone else was entirely natural – an expression of lactation aggression seen widely in the animal kingdom. What animal would leave their offspring until they can fend for themselves?

While it has been truly wondrous to watch my young children develop relationships with other adults, it never occurred to me that they should be left alone to do this until they were able to express their needs clearly. My children are both secure, strong and healthy, and I know that I’ll never regret putting them first at such an early stage of development.

My advice is to go back to your friend and tell her exactly how you are feeling and to say that it isn’t something you can really compromise on as it would go against your strong mother instinct. Acknowledge her wish to keep her wedding day child free but see if she is willing to work out a way for you to attend some or all of the celebration. Find out exactly why she is unwilling to invite children to the wedding. For instance, she might be worried that they will disrupt the service. If this is the case, you might decide not to attend or perhaps you could agree to take your toddler out if they get noisy. Other options include having someone to care for your toddler outside the ceremony venue or leaving them with family for the duration of the ceremony, and then either bringing them to the reception or returning home to them.
All the very best with this, and remember to stay true to yourself and your parenting journey.

Michelle Bennett, Christchurch – I can totally see both sides of this situation. When I got married almost 3 years ago I asked my family and friends not to bring their children – my reasoning was that I had attended a wedding a few years ago where the children (niece & nephew of the bride) totally ran riot and diverted the attention of the guests away from the service. My friends fortunately were fine with this.

I went to a wedding six weeks after my daughter was born and although my friends did not ask me to come without my daughter, I felt that it would be hypocritical to do so. My sister came along with me and my husband and I went into the church at the last minute and my sister just walked my daughter around in the pram.. We then went home before the reception and did her bed/feed routine and Mum minded her so we could go to the reception.

It is a difficult situation for you to be placed in but even if you did what I did and attended the service you can still see your friend get married even if you feel you can’t leave your son for the evening part of the proceedings. It is her special day as much as her decision may be hurtful for you.

Julie Moyle, Dunedin – I too faced a similar situation when invited to my own brother’s wedding. It breaks my heart to this day when I think about it.

I had to do what was right for my then baby and respectfully decline the invitation. This caused a lot of stress on our family dynamics with a major breakdown however I was simply not prepared to compromise the safety and security of our son. I pleaded for an allowance for our then eight month old, as did my parents but this fell on deaf ears.

If I was faced with the dilemma again. I would have no hesitation in making the very same decision, even with the same outcome. I am pleased to say the relationship has improved, and who knows, maybe because my brother now has children of his own?

Breastfeeding with Inverted Nipples

Post category:Challenges
Reading time:8 mins read

Ten years ago it would not have seemed likely that I would have been
involved with La Leche League today. I was bottle feeding my firstborn
Madeline (albeit with expressed breast milk EBM) and slowly convincing
myself that I was one of those poor women who could not breastfeed.
I did write about my failed breastfeeding experience for the then New
Beginnings (the forerunner of Aroha). The conclusion I reached at the end of
the article was that when you have a baby and wish to breastfeed, you must
make breastfeeding top priority once your baby is born and until you and your
baby have it ‘sussed’. My problem was small flat nipples that became very
cracked with my feeding attempts. I gave up and settled for pumping breast
milk for my baby for six months. As a new mum I thought that would be long
enough!
I had attended my first LLL meeting when I was eight months pregnant and
had really enjoyed it. I always loved La Leche League meetings: watching the
babies and toddlers breastfeeding, learning about attachment parenting and
enjoying the company of the other mothers. Madeline slept in our bed until
she was three which probably wouldn’t have happened if I had left LLL.
As time went on I became more and more annoyed with my situation; that is,
having a toddler I couldn’t put to the breast whenever she became fractious or
tired. I continued with LLL meetings as I had no other mothers’ group and the
Leaders had cleverly made me Librarian.
I went through a stage of thinking I would not have any more children as I
definitely did not want another bottle fed baby. Sometimes I thought it would
have been better if I had not stayed in La Leche League and instead mixed
with other bottle feeders.
I can’t remember why I did decide to have another child maybe it was my
husband but I know I considered my chances of breastfeeding this time
would probably be about 50/50. One factor I had in my favour this time
(besides having attended LLL meetings for well over two years) was that
Christchurch Women’s Hospital, where I would be birthing, had employed a
lactation consultant. Dawn Hunter was to be available, in theory to anyone
who birthed there for up to six weeks after the birth. When I was having
problems with Madeline I didn’t engage a lactation consultant for long, for fear
of the price. Of course I spent a lot more on breast pump hire and formula in
the first year than I ever would have done on a lactation consultant.
Dawn met with me when I was about five months pregnant. The main things
to come out of that meeting were: 1) she said she would be there for the
baby’s first feed, 2) I should avoid pethidine in the labour, and 3) she was
confident I could breastfeed this time.
Being there for Lydia’s first feed meant Dawn had to turn her car round en
route to a Saturday night out to get back to the hospital. A quick and easy
birth meant I was a lot more energetic straight after it than I had been the first
time. Dawn did not hurry to put Lydia on the breast but let her crawl up my
belly. She didn’t latch then but soon afterwards.
The interesting thing about being a failed breastfeeder is that you are far less
confident than a first time mum. I think of it as being behind the starting line.
How that manifested itself in me was that I did not put Lydia to the breast
myself for about 48 hours. Dawn wrote a breastfeeding plan that the staff took
very seriously. It basically said that every latch had to be perfect. For every
feed I would trot down to the nursery as it was the only place with decent
chairs and footstools. A nurse would help get her on and once she was
feeding I did not move!
Day three was very much a make or break day. The midwives suggested I
have the physiotherapist give my abraded (grazed) nipples ‘light’ treatment.
She took me into the room and when I took my top off she said my nipples
were so abraded that she wouldn’t do any treatment. I went back to the ward
and told myself, “Who am I trying to kid. The fact is my nipples will never
allow me to breastfeed.” It was obvious to those around me that my mental
state had taken a definite dip and Dawn was called in. I’ll never forget her
looking me in the eye and saying, “Anne I’ve just been on another ward and
told a lady she won’t be able to feed her baby and I’m telling you that you
can.” It certainly helped hearing that and I think from then on things improved
slowly. I stayed in hospital for seven days so that I felt confident at
latching Lydia on myself. Lydia was a small baby (and is a small seven year
old now) so I could easily hold her in the ‘cross cradle’ position. I fully
supported her weight with my arm until she was over three months old . That
demonstrates the high level of panic I had with varying a position that worked.
A funny thing happened to me after I had Lydia and had been breastfeeding
her for a couple of months. I got on an incredible high. Because I could
breastfeed my baby, as far as I was concerned, my baby was no trouble at all.
I can remember telling my mother that I hoped I had twins next time to make it
a bit more interesting. One day I was at a very cosy LLL enrichment meeting when it suddenly
dawned on me. I wanted another baby as soon as possible. My husband, Tim, was agreeable and my resolve (and high) never wavered. My period came
back at ten months and I got pregnant straight away. I have often questioned
the logic of that action as at the time I knew enough to know that Lydia’s time
at the breast would probably be reduced if I became pregnant then.
My nipples were tender in the first trimester, my milk supply was low in the
second and in the third I began to get nervous about establishing another
breastfeeding relationship. I didn’t want a toddler feeding if my nipples were
going to be badly abraded again. Tim got up to Lydia in the night for about
three weeks before Finn was born which seemed to wean her. As it happened
she had one final feed about a week after Finn was born and I can still
remember the surprised look on her face.
Finn was born by Caesarean and Dawn was on hand again. We didn’t do the
crawling up the belly routine but she made sure his first feed was a good one.
I can’t remember too much about establishing feeding with him except that
once again I got abraded nipples (even though I basically had still been
feeding Lydia.) By day five I felt confident though so he was by far my easiest
time.
Because of my six months on a breast pump with Madeline I have avoided
them like the plague with the other two children. They were advised by nurses
at the hospital a few times but to me they always represented intervention; an
intervention that had led to not breastfeeding Madeline. If breast pumps or
more importantly formula was not so readily available, would Madeline have
been breastfed? I suspect she would have been and probably for a long time,
she still liked a bottle at three. Over the years I have spoken to many women who did not manage to
breastfed their first baby and most did not feed their next babies. It seems you
either become more determined or you become a bit anti it. And often the anti
ones will fire bullets at breastfeeding. If it hadn’t been for La Leche League I
think none of my children would have received much breast milk. Attending
meetings when Madeline was a baby kept me pumping and all the
subsequent meetings ensured I’d give it the best go possible when I had other
children.
As a postscript I learnt to feed lying down with Finn at three months (I never
had to get up to a baby again after that) and he weaned four years later. I
became a La Leche League Leader when he was 14 months old and I am still
even though all three children are happily at school now.

Anne O’Connell, Christchurch
AROHA September October 2003 Volume 5 Issue 5

Breastfeeding in a Bottle Culture

Post category:Challenges
Reading time:6 mins read

I just happened to read, at my local library, in a recent issue of another
parenting magazine an article on breastfeeding in a bottle culture, which was
written by a La Leche League Leader. I wanted you to know about an
experience I had and how right that article was. Also I would like other people
to know that illness does not have to be the end of breastfeeding.
It might sound like this happened decades ago but it was last November when
my baby was seven weeks old. I was hospitalised with salmonella, eight days
in total. (Initially it was thought to be a uterus infection). My baby was being
exclusively breastfed. For various reasons and I know they included concern
for my wellbeing, the nurses encouraged my family to give my baby formula
in bottles. I was told by doctors it was ‘on the cards’ that my daughter would
get the salmonella too, yet nurses continued to want my baby bottle fed. Four
days after admission my baby accepted a bottle. That morning a doctor
walked in and said the baby shouldn’t be there. As a new mother I didn’t have
the right words or information but my mother had earlier told me she thought
the breast milk was providing my baby with immunity to the salmonella and so
I tried to ask the doctor about this. She simply stated that there was no
immunity and that the baby was in danger being with me. I felt so panicked
that I told my partner to take her away immediately.
That day when my Mother came she said she heard from a friend that there
was a lactation consultant at the hospital, and so she got in touch with her. No
doubt the nurses thought I would now be able to rest. I guess they assumed
the milk would dry up, either that or they just didn’t know that something would
need to be done to prevent a breast infection. Fortunately Mum thought to hire
a breast pump and I definitely found pumping six to eight times a day while ill
less restful than lying down with my baby.
The lactation consultant was really good and although she was professional
about the way she spoke about hospital staff, I realised she was less than
impressed at my baby being sent home. She talked about the fact that
continuing to breastfeed my baby was definitely best for her and she gave me
some reading. When I was sent home, to a then bottle fed baby, and read the information
and searched the internet I felt devastated to know that several sources of
information stated clearly that a fully breastfed baby does have antibodies to
its mother’s salmonella. Now I was still infected and living with a bottle fed
baby.
I think I was very lucky that my baby was able to latch on as soon as I
attempted to feed her again, the minute I returned home. I didn’t have to
continue using the pump at home as my baby was eager to feed frequently,
otherwise I may have needed to do this. The main difficulties were firstly,
trying to maintain my milk supply while at the hospital, unwell and not eating
much. I had to use the breast pump for a minimum of six times each day, for I
think around 15 20 minutes each time. Sometimes I found I got very little
milk and I tried hard just to think of my baby while I was pumping. I found the
hospital grade pump good.
Secondly when I got home I felt incredibly weak and I felt as if I was fighting
dehydration constantly, this continued for a number of days. Fortunately I had
rung my GP as soon as I got home to ask his advice about feeding my baby
again and he told me to drink lots of sports drink. This turned out to be
fantastic advice and I drank bottles full at a time. I also drank resource
medical drinks from the hospital and a dietary supplement for a week. This
also helped a lot, as well as eating frequently, especially salty meals. Although
I felt weak for two to three weeks after I got home I knew I was getting enough
fluid and nutrients to provide for my baby.
Once I knew my breast milk contained antibodies to salmonella I was
determined to pass them onto my baby no matter what. If you are determined
to breastfeed then problems will be things to overcome rather than obstacles
to breastfeeding.
Throughout, my greatest concern was always the welfare of my baby and I
still feel so angry that medical professionals put my baby at risk and had not
thought to ask me what I wanted and did not support me in continuing to
breastfeed my baby. If it hadn’t been for my Mum, that would have been the
end of my experience with breastfeeding. Fortunately for the efforts Mum
made I was able to get my baby back to being fully breastfed and am now
aware of the importance of breastfeeding. My Mum knew of La Leche League and had recommended the organisation to
me. She knows one of the Leaders of the West Auckland Group. Also the
week before I got salmonella I had attended one of the Mount Albert Group’s
meetings and I think their brainstorming session about how to overcome any
breastfeeding problems probably did have an impact although I hadn’t
consciously thought about it.
I still feel disturbed that people don’t realise the importance of breastfeeding,
especially medical professionals. When half my antenatal class are already
bottle feeding, when my work ring up more than once urging me to return part
time and when people say ‘you don’t want to have a big baby hanging off you’
I find it hard to believe that we are supposed to be an intelligent culture. I want
to let people know that breastfeeding has lifesaving potential.

Olivia Murton, Auckland
AROHA May/June 2003 Volume 5 Issue 3