I am a huge nursing advocate, I nursed Allie until she was 18 months old and I was pregnant with Jack. I am still nursing Jack and I treasure and love every moment of nursing; perhaps this is why it bothers me so much when I hear that doctors and nurses are not as supportive of nursing as they should be.
I don't usually say too much about my opinions on nursing because I don't want to offend people or hurt feelings; however their is nothing better than the breast. Formula companies try and "sell" tell you that their formula is just as good, but it is not. They have tried and it is good but it is not the same as breastmilk. This is not to say that there is anything wrong with bottle feeding, it is just to say that they are not the same. Phew!! Now that I have that off my chest, no pun intended.
Why is it that doctors and nurses who should be the most supportive of breastfeeding are sometimes not. Why do they try and push formula on new moms? Why do they try telling mom's things like, your baby has breastfeeding jaundice because they are not getting enough milk. Wait a minute, no that is not why they have jaundice, it is not caused by breastfeeding and you do not need to supplement with formula to treat it. Ugh, this feels so good to get this out!
Way too often medical professionals prey on a mother's insecurities and fears. What mom what's to hear that their baby isn't eating enough and they are sick because of it and then follow it all up with, oh and you can "fix" it by bottle feeding.
With Allie I was lucky enough that she didn't have jaundice and she practically crawled over to latch on when they put her on my tummy. My little man Jack, was a different story, his latch wasn't as great and he had jaundice which didn't help. I was lucky enough to have a mom who was a lactation consultant and a huge support to me. When Jack was re-admitted to the hospital for his jaundice and the nurses tried to tell convince me that I needed to supplement with formula to help his jaundice clear, I knew this wasn't true and when I refused, they looked at me in disbelief. I was very adamant that I would not supplement with formula. I did pump and was willing to supplement with my own breastmilk and guess what he didn't take it, wasn't hungry. All I managed to do was send my milk production into overdrive. But what about the mom that doesn't know that they don't need to supplement with formula and they do it and it sabotages their breastfeeding.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think that formula is wrong, I just don't think that breastfeeding should be sabotaged, it is worth doing and should receive more support than it does.
Well now that I am done, what do you think? What has been your experience with breastfeeding?
3 comments:
It is nice to hear someone actually advocate for nursing, especially when you work outside of the home. Good for you!
I nursed both of mine for about 6 months each and wish I would have done it for longer but it got so hard to pump at work and maintain enough "supply" to justify doing it. I will definitely do it for longer if/when I have a third baby!
Hey, Jessica! Thanks for your comment on my page! I can get you a name of a lady who makes tutus. I am sure she can come up with something for your sweet little girl. Let me know :) Also, I am a nursing momma too! Kennedy is 15 months old, still nursing at least once a day! I hate when people think it's weird I am still nursing her. I hear all the time, she's getting too big.The day will come soon enough, we are both enjoying it while we can!
Amen sista! Nursing rocks. With each child I get more and more militant ;-)
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