Hospitals Suck At Promoting Breastfeeding

I don’t think this is new news. Breastfeeding has become more mainstream since the 70’s and the fact that people still don’t pick it up as “the norm” is what I think is weird. I always noticed that minorities tend rarely, if ever to breastfeed. I don’t know if this is something cultural, perhaps hospital propaganda as described in this article, or whatever (perhaps Alicia can shed some light).The reasons I have been given as to why breastfeeding is bad range from “oh, breastfeeding, gross” (but this was from a cousin that I would have loved to have told “having two kids from two different convicts and leaving them in the Bronx with you grandmother to raise while you live in Long Island with your boyfriend-gross!”, but I didn’t) to a nursing baby “never gets enough food”, or “breastfeeding causes you to have all those kids so close together” (that gem came from my grandmother).

But breast-feeding can be frustrating for new mothers because of nipple pain or the misperception that they’re not producing enough milk. It’s crucial that moms get proper breast-feeding advice and encouragement those first few days after birth, said Dr. Sheela Geraghty, a lactation expert at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Two years ago, a girl I knew had a baby and was adamant she wanted to breastfeed. She came from a family where this was a novel idea. As soon as the baby was waking up in the middle of the night, her sisters-in-law and mother were there with a bottle telling her her baby is starving . I nicely and unobtrusively (which meant it went in one ear and out the other) attempted to offer the advice to one of the sister-in-law who was bending everyone’s ear about what a dopey mother this was, that nursing babies metabolize food quickly, so they are always going to want to nurse. There doesn’t seem to be an understanding with many people who are trying to cross that bridge from bottle feeding to breastfeeding, that bottle feeding is strictly about food, while nursing is about comfort, not just nutrition. There is also a lack of understanding that you cannot over breastfeed, while there must be a level of control with how much formula to give and how often.

But practices unfriendly to breast-feeding were common throughout the country, the survey found.
About a quarter of hospitals reported giving formula or some other supplement to more than half of their healthy, full-term newborns. The practice was common even when mothers were able and willing to breast-feed, Dee said.
Of hospitals who gave supplements, 30 percent gave sugar water and 15 percent gave water.

Again, this reminds me of the control-freaky family members who will not give people the opportunity to even try it and fail, and find their way. It starts in the hospital. I think of that grandmotherly nurse, you know the one in the L & D room who tells you things like “now Honey, you have to lie still…”, “now Honey you are making too much noise…” (I have been to three hospitals in two states, and the same nurse is always there.) Then afterwards you find that nurse’s twin sister in the nursery sticking pacifiers in the baby’s mouth despite your requests. In their defense, they do this day in and day out, sticking a pacifier in the babies’ mouths makes things run smoother for them…I guess.
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The other day when I was at Catholic Charities a couple I knew came in with their 10-month old girl for baby supplies. I knew the father, he used to be a neighbor and he has a cute little girl (by another lady I know) about 5-6 that used to play with my kids. In the summer I used to just leave the front door open and the kids would be in and out, in and out. The boys would play games and run out and the girls would come in and draw pictures. We always have an abundance of art supplies since we home school. Anyhoo, the father and I chit chatted about my husband, the weather and whatnot. I gave them diapers, but they were also there because they were out of baby formula, so they were requesting some from the food pantry. While they were waiting, the baby was tired and fussy. She wanted her bottle and wanted to take a nap. They gave the baby bottles of water, which she drank some, but then threw and complained. They were giving the baby, salchichas or Vienna Sausages (always a common snack among us Carribean folk, I often wonder if they eat them as much in Vienna as much as they do in Kingston and San Juan), she would eat one and fuss. it wasn’t what she wanted. I sat there and wondered what knuckle head(s) thought that for people where income might be an issue, formula was a much better alternative to breastfeeding? Someone who makes money off of formula, no?