Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieCatheryn  For every new mom in the hospital as a gift bag: Informative, helpful, and encouraging pamphlets and books, nursing comfort supplies like cloth pads and cooling pads and lasinoh, and a onesie with something pro BF on it.
Free breastfeeding classes
Meetings
Free lactation consultant services
Discounted or free pumps and instruction on using them
Nipple shields, SNS/lactaid things if the LC recommended them
And, commercials, radio ads, and billboards normalizing and educating about BF, and getting the word out about our services. My message would be this: Milk is produced automatically in a new mother's breasts and nothing can come close to matching it in quality. A newborn naturally roots for the mother's breast and even crawls to it given the chance. Mother's milk continues to provide wonderful nourishment and protection as long as the child nurses be it measured in days, weeks, months, or years. Every drop you give your baby is a blessing.
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We have this (bolding mine), as well as rooming in as norm, that is unless you baby has to be admitted to the newborn unit for health issues (For me, not the best, as I was not actually well enough to care for baby, and fathers aren't allowed to stay in our hospital, I was better off at home, just not well enough to get into the car to go home after the birth), no formula or bottles in the maternity ward, unless you bring and prepare your own in the kitchenette. Despite this, low milk supply is common.
I think a major thing would be debunking some very common myths:
- If your baby cries in the evening and you feel empty after cluster feeding, you have low supply and need to supplement as you wait for your supply to (magically) increase.
- Your baby can empty your breast in 10 mins, so don't let him feed any longer than that.
- If you feed too often you'll get sore nipples.
- You need several hours for your breasts to fill up after a feed.
- A bottle of formula at night will make your baby sleep better.
- When your baby seems hungry after a feed or starts waking more at night (often around 4 months, surprisingly!), he needs solids (if he is much younger than 6 months, he is just advanced).
- There is no nutritional value to breastmilk after 1 year.
- Formula contains exactly the same things as breastmilk, and is just as good nowadays.
- Big is better, so it is better if your baby is on the 95th percentile or above, or at least over the 50th percentile! If not, you should really supplement.
- Babies should be encouraged to sleep through the night as soon as possible, it doesn't affect breastfeeding.
- Breastfeeding is very difficult, and time-consuming. (An add promoting breastfeeding has a woman saying "It is hard enough breastfeeding for 6 minutes, let alone 6 months!")
Most people seem to believe in most of this, despite a very strong support for breastfeeding here. I would like to see breastfeeding portrayed as something positive, especially after the first few weeks! I would like to see a simple comparison between breastfeeding and formula. I would really like to see the 10 minutes to empty myth debunked! And also the idea that a crying baby needs a bottle of formula at night in the early weeks. I would like to see proper info about what causes sore nipples, as well as a clear explanation of supply and demand, and descriptions of growth spurts, and their significance for supply.
I guess that would do for a start!
- I ended up battling low supply. I really thought it was that easy, i didn't realise that my baby could be latched on and sometimes even sucking, without transferring milk. It also is a problem if the baby has a weak suck, is sleepy or has tongue-tie. Is there any way to portray breastfeeding as simple, but still indicate that latch, sucking and swallowing is important? In my case, my DD started losing weight before we realised that something was amiss. I'd hate for anyone to go through what we did!
: that really irritates me. 
