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All
health professionals say they are supportive of breastfeeding. But many
are supportive only when breastfeeding is going well, and some, not even then.
As soon as breastfeeding, or anything in the life of the new mother is not
perfect, too many advise weaning or supplementation. The following is a
partial list of clues which help you judge whether the health professional
is supportive of breastfeeding, at least supportive enough so that if there is
trouble, s/he will make efforts to help you continue breastfeeding.
How to know a health professional is not supportive:
1. S/he gives you formula samples or formula company literature when you are
pregnant, or after you have had the baby. These samples and literature are
inducements to use the product, and their distribution is called marketing.
There is no evidence that any particular formula is better or worse than any
other for the normal baby. The literature or videos accompanying samples are a
means of subtly and not so subtly undermining breastfeeding and glorifying
formula. If you do not believe this, ask yourself why the formula companies are
using cutthroat tactics to make sure that your doctor or hospital gives out
their literature and samples and not other companies’? Should you not also
wonder why the health professional is not marketing breastfeeding?
2.
S/he tells you that breastfeeding and bottle feeding are essentially the same.
Most bottle fed babies grow up healthy and secure and not all breastfed babies
grow up healthy and secure. But this does not mean that breastfeeding and bottle
feeding are essentially the same. Infant formula is a rough copy of what we knew
several years ago about breastmilk which is in itself a rough
approximation of something we are only beginning to get an inkling of and are
constantly being surprised by. The differences have important health
consequences. Certain elements in breastmilk are not in artificial baby milk
(formula) even though we have known of their importance to the baby for several
years—for example, antibodies and cells for protection of the baby against
infection, and long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids for optimal development of
the baby’s vision and brain. And breastfeeding is not the same as bottle
feeding, it is a whole different relationship. If you have been unable to
breastfeed, that is unfortunate (though most times the problems could
have been avoided), but to imply it is of no importance is patronizing and just
plain wrong. A baby does not have to be breastfed to grow up happy, healthy and
secure, but it does help.
3. S/he tells you that formula x is best. This usually means that s/he is
listening too much to a particular formula representative. It may mean that
her/his children tolerated this particular formula better than other formulas.
It means that s/he has unsubstantiated prejudices.
4.
S/he tells you that it is not necessary to feed the baby immediately after the
birth since you are (will be) tired and the baby is often not interested anyhow.
It isn’t necessary, but it is very helpful. Babies can nurse while the
mother is lying down or sleeping, though most mothers do not want to sleep at a
moment such as this. Babies do not always show an interest in feeding
immediately, but this is not a reason to prevent them from having the
opportunity. Many babies latch on in the hour or two after delivery, and this is
the time that is most conducive to getting started well, but they can’t do it if
they are separated from their mothers. If you are getting the impression that
the baby’s getting weighed, eye drops and vitamin K injection have priority over
establishing breastfeeding, you might wonder about someone’s commitment to
breastfeeding.
5.
S/he tells you that there is no such thing as nipple confusion and you should
start giving bottles early to your baby to make sure that the baby accepts a
bottle nipple. Why do you have to start giving bottles early if there is no
such thing as nipple confusion? Arguing that there is no evidence for the
existence of nipple confusion is putting the cart before the horse. It is the
artificial nipple, which no mammal until man had ever used, and even man, not
commonly before the end of the nineteenth century, which needs to be shown to be
harmless. But the artificial nipple has not been proved harmless to
breastfeeding. The health professional who assumes the artificial nipple is
harmless is looking at the world as if bottle feeding, not breastfeeding, were
the normal physiologic method of infant feeding. By the way, just because not
all or perhaps even not most babies who get artificial nipples have trouble with
breastfeeding, it does not follow that the early use of these things cannot
cause problems for some babies. It is often a combination of factors, one of
which could be the using of an artificial nipple, which add up to trouble.
6.
S/he tells you that you must stop breastfeeding because your are sick or your
baby is sick, or because you will be taking medicine or you will have a medical
test done. There are occasional, rare, situations when breastfeeding cannot
continue, but often health professionals only assume that the mother cannot
continue and often they are wrong. The health professional who is supportive of
breastfeeding will make efforts to find out how to avoid interruption of
breastfeeding (the information in white pages of the blue Compendium of
Pharmaceutical Specialties is not a good reference—every drug is
contraindicated according to it as the drug companies are more interested in
their liability than in the interests of mothers and babies). When a mother
must take medicine, the health professional will try to use medication that
does not require the mother to stop breastfeeding. (In fact, very few
medications require the mother to stop breastfeeding). It is extremely uncommon
for there to be only one medication which can be used for a particular problem.
If the first choice of the health professional is a medication that requires you
to stop breastfeeding, you have a right to be concerned that s/he has not really
thought about the importance of breastfeeding.
7.
S/he is surprised to learn that your 6 month old is still breastfeeding.
Many health professionals believe that babies should be continued on artificial
baby milk for at least nine months and even twelve months, but at the same time
seem to believe that breastmilk and breastfeeding are unnecessary and even
harmful if continued longer than six months. Why is the imitation better than
the original? Shouldn’t you wonder what this line of reasoning implies? In most
of the world, breastfeeding to 2 or 3 years of age is common and normal.
8.
S/he tells you that there breastmilk has no nutritional value after the baby is
6 months or older. Even if it were true, there is still value in
breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a unique interaction between two people in
love even without the milk. But it is not true. Breastmilk is still milk,
with fat, protein, calories, vitamins and the rest, and the antibodies and other
elements which protect the baby against infections are still there, some in
greater quantities than when the baby was younger. Anyone who tells you this
doesn’t know the first thing about breastfeeding.
9.
S/he tells you that you must never allow your baby to fall asleep at the breast.
Why not? It is fine if a baby can also fall asleep without nursing, but one of
the advantages of breastfeeding is that you have a handy way of putting your
tired baby to sleep. Mothers around the world since the beginning of mammalian
time have done just that. One of the great pleasures of parenthood is having a
child fall asleep in your arms, feeling the warmth he gives off as sleep
overcomes him. It is one of the pleasures of breastfeeding, both for the mother
and probably also for the baby, when the baby falls asleep at the breast.
10.
S/he tells you that you should not stay in hospital to nurse your sick child
because it is important you rest at home. It is important you rest, and the
hospital that is supportive of breastfeeding will arrange it so that you can
rest while you stay in the hospital to nurse your baby. Sick babies do not need
breastfeeding less than a healthy baby, they need it more.
About The Author: Dr. Jack Newman is a Toronto
pediatrician who has practiced medicine since 1970. In 1984 he established the
first hospital based breastfeeding clinic in Canada, at the Hospital for Sick
Children in Toronto. He now holds breastfeeding clinics in several Toronto area
hospitals. Jack has been a consultant with UNICEF's Baby Friendly Hospital
Initiative and has spoken at conferences around the world. He is the father of
three children, all breastfed.
Dr. Newman is the author of
"The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers"
NOTE: The article above titled "How
to Know a Health Professional is not Supportive of Breastfeeding" was written by Dr. Jack Newman and is the opinion of its author. "The New Parents Guide" does not guarantee the information to
be factual. Always use the guidance of your personal
doctor or your child's doctor over information you read on this site or elsewhere; your doctors know what is
best for you and your baby.
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