Breastfeeding moms, if YOU were to "teach" a new first time mom the art of breastfeeding, how would you do it?
I recently heard one of my friends talking about her experiences with breastfeeding and how peaceful and relaxing it was and the intimacy between her and her baby and it sounded like a wonderful experience. It was NOT what I experienced in my failed attempt at breastfeeding. It seemed like the OB nurses at the hospital tried to make the whole experience as stressful as possible. They were grabbing at my boob and violently SHOVING it in my poor tiny baby's mouth, of course he fought it, being manhandled that way. Of course it didn't help that the lactation consultant for the hospital was out of town when my baby was born. Also, he was very lethargic when he was born and was nearly impossible to keep awake. He had a condition called Neonatal Polycythemia that caused poor feeding and lethargy. We were there for 3 days after he was born and by then the phrase "you need to try to nurse him" totally stressed us out. My husband insisted I bottle feed him pumped breast milk because of the strain he saw in both me and our baby. I tried to explain nipple confusion, but he won out in the end. I tried for two weeks to get him to latch on, and he would eventually start screaming and pushing away when I got him in the proper nursing position. So, if you were to teach the art of breastfeeding to a new first time mom, how would you do it? I have since been more informed enough by my own research that the violent shove the boob in the baby's mouth approach taught by "Bull in a China Shop" nurse and "Nurse Ratchet" (my husband's name for them, not mine) isn't right. And that it's not supposed to stress mom amd baby out so much that they both begin to hate it. :( He's two months old now, totally loving the bottle. If I have another though........ Actually, my most successful latch was after my husband and I pretty much scared the nurses out of my room. No La Leche League in my town, pretty much no breastfeeding support at all. Just one very busy lactation consultant. (Small town Alaska, my husband's mom thought she was in a 3rd world country when she visited) I never said the lactation consultant was a man, just out of town. I took a breastfeeding class before my son's birth. It was one hour and it mainly focused on the benefits of breastfeeding with little practical instruction. Number 2 will be better, I hope.
Newborn & Baby - 6 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I didn't have anyone at the hospital help me, I just sort of figured it out. I sat up comfortably, grabbed a boppy pillow to lay the baby on and scooted him close to my breast. I made sure his mouth was open wide enough so the whole aereola was in his mouth, and just let him go. I tried different positions to see what worked best for us, and he was eager to eat so there weren't any problems for us.
2 :
I nursed my son for 14 months and had a wonderful experience, but I would hardly consider myself an expert who is qualified to teach others the skill. To any mother who is considering breastfeeding, I would advise taking a breastfeeding course before having the baby -- these are offered at most hospitals along with childbirth classes, and include articles, websites, and videos showing MANY examples of what a proper latch should look like in MANY different nursing positions. Second, I would advise spending as much time as possible with a lactation consultant (or experienced nurse, if a consultant is not available) while in the hospital, especially if issues arise. Only an individual mother can really say when she feels she has tried enough, but I would advise sticking with it as long as you can possibly stand it before giving up.
3 :
I've thought about taking some lactation consultant classes or whatever it is I would need to certify, but after only bf one baby, I don't feel that qualified! I also had a hard time, but had a GREAT LLL lady help me out and a wonderful doctor who was very supportive. I took my son's lead. Most babies are born with the ability to latch. some need a little more coaxing. I found it helped if I had a bit of milk on the tip my nipple to encourage him to latch. if there's nothing there, baby can get very frustrated a refuse to latch. The nurses taught me a little trick while still in the hospital, they got a tiny syringe and squirted a tiny amount of formula in his mouth as he was starting to latch. (as you don't have much to squeeze out at first!) and it worked wonderfully. I would make sure his/her lips are OUT! and that they have the entire aerola in their mouth. I wasn't quite sure what I was doing and ended up with some nasty cracked nipples! It is best to avoid all other fake nipples (bottle or soother) for 6 weeks to avoid nipple confusion. As we experienced it and again, had terribly cracked painful nipples! We seriously had to 're'-teach our son how to latch again. It also doesn't help with you have NO help! If you are pregnant, try and book a few appointments with a Lactation consultant before hand, or go to a couple Le Leche League meetings, they should be able to give you great tips! I'm sorry you missed out on that opportunity, I hope I helped a bit! EDIT: You could try booking an appointment far in advance with the Lactation consultant or even talk with a LLL lady over the phone might help!
4 :
Goodness, that story is identical to what I went through with my son. I got to the point where I was in tears trying to nurse him when we were still in the hospital. I actually pumped and finger fed him for the first week because the latching technique they showed me was not correct. I'm not sure how I would teach another woman. I think I benefited most from going to a few la leche meetings and having other women there to show by example. It's easy to describe the hold position or that you need have the whole areola in the mouth for a good latch. But I think having another nursing mother in front of you is enormously helpful. It makes that information more tangible.
5 :
The key to learning to breastfeed (for me) was patience and support. My baby did not want to latch on at all when she was first born. So, to keep from getting too frustrated, I would put her down whenever I got close to getting upset. She would not nurse for very long at each feeding until eventually getting hungry enough to want more. The first few days of life, most babies aren't that interested in feeding anyways. Her pediatrician told me that babies have enough nutrients to sustain them for 72 hours after birth with no feedings at all. (Not that you shouldn't try to feed them but you get the idea) So, I never gave her a bottle, because I knew she would prefer it, due to it being easier and eventually (it took about 2 and a half weeks) she got the hang of breastfeeding. It was like one day it just clicked for her and she knew what she was doing. Those were 2 very long weeks! But I'm very glad I pushed thru and got her to where we are today. If you do try to solely breastfeed, just know that your baby is not going to know how to do it at first and you should sleep whenever your baby is sleeping so that when he/she is awake, you will feel more rested than if you just try to sleep at night. (My daughter nursed every 2-3 hours all day and night) Now she loves to nurse and it is very soothing for her. Even if she is not really hungry, it calms her down if for some reason she is upset and/or can't fall asleep.
6 :
Wow, I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I'm surprised to hear that your lactation consultant was a man. That scene you described as them shoving your baby's face into your breast is pretty much what happened to me at the hospital. Luckily, I had nurses that were very nice that explained to me that you do that so that the baby is able to latch on correctly. Your breast is large and their mouths small, so in order to get the nipple far enough in back of their mouth, you need to shove. Don't worry, you won't hurt your baby. The first few weeks are stressful. The blissful moments with your baby come later. The first 3 weeks are horrible. Be prepared for pain and be prepared to want to give up, BUT don't. You need to have a pact with your husband (I made my husband promise me before I gave birth that NO MATTER HOW HURT I AM, don't encourage formula just reassure me it's almost over). Buy lanolin creme because you will probably need it. You can probably watch a video online before the birth of your next baby of how to latch babies on and what a good latch looks like. They have lactation consultants you can pay to come over or even call on the phone for advice. I was able to receive good advice from the lactation consultants at my hospital. Once your milk comes in (one to two weeks), it's a lot better. I don't live in a small town in Alaska, but I didn't have very much support from family or friends because no one breastfed. I had a serious conversation with my husband and made him promise to encourage me to continue and I got numbers to all lactation consultants I could find. My daughter is 12 months and I'm still breastfeeding. I know it's hard to do this without support, so I applaud you for trying.
Read more discussion :
