nipple-confusion "myth"

[mommydancer]

Hey, I just joined the site. I was looking thru a "Baby Talk" magazine (Feb. 2008...page 52, blue inset) this am and there's an inset about how ridiculous and unfounded the "myth" of nipple confusion is. I was so inflamed by this piece that I went online trying to find where to email the magazine and give them a piece of my mind. (Hopefully I can spare some.)

Basically, they make it sound like introducing a nipple can't cause any confusion even if it's done immediately postpartum in the hospital. While I agree w/ them that other aspects of BFing are important motivators (they mention smell, I would add warmth, heart beat, sounds, oral sensation, etc.) I know a number of moms whose good intentions to BF were thwarted by someone who believed it didn't matter if a nipple were introduced, (usually a nurse, once even though a "no nipples" sign was posted in the bassinet). The thing is, the magazine is touting itself as being in support of breastfeeding and pushing their new book on parenting in the first year, and I think this piece is irresponsible, badly researched and potentially detrimental. The thought of a whole book is saddening.

Just had to get this off my chest. (Pun intended, he he.)
Thank you for letting me do so.

:

[mrsdocmartin]

That whole article and magazine pissed me off. It made it sound like it is WAY too difficult and time consuming to EBF, so "don't feel the lease bit guilty if you choose to bottle feed (formula) and BF." I guess that is fine, and better than no BF, but it made it sound like that choice is just as good as EBFing. I feel the whole tone of that magazine is pro FF. I'm sure they get lots of ad $ from formula companies. In several places it says things like "Babies need formula (or BM) until such and such age, or whatever. Lots of subtle, formula is just as good inuendos.

[menomena]

welcome to MDC! i had stop reading that mag a looong time ago. They are first and foremost an advertising publication, with "articles" thrown in and around the ads. So sad that they have an "authoritative" parenting book now too.

[momma2libby]

I read that magazine the other day. Last night I had a dream that my friend had the mag come to her through the mail and I told her how I like some parts of it but, mostly it gives really bad breastfeeding information. In the dream I also reminded her not to take any advice from a magazine with so many formula advertisements. I'm a lactivist even in my sleep I guess.

[jaxxy]

I felt the whole article was inflammatory. They say that BF is best but can be "emotionally draining"! They also kept referring to these "others" that came up with the whole nipple confusion thing and I couldn't help think they were referring to us!

[HarperRose]

Emotionally draining??? What??? How?

[zinemama]

Originally Posted by Justthatgirl

Emotionally draining??? What??? How?

If you've never experienced the emotionally draining side of breastfeeding, I'm happy for you.

But as someone who has, it's all too real. Combine a kid with a poor latch, a new mother, infant weight loss, sleep deprivation...right there's your recipe for emotionally draining.

Now, I'm not saying it's like that all the time or for everyone. But much as I'm a bf advocate, I don't think it does the cause any favors to portray breastfeeding as all rainbows and unicorns.

That said, the article sounds like the typical sort of thing you'd expect from that rag of a magazine.

[Arwyn]

But that's not breastfeeding per se. That's having problems, and being a new parent, and of course things aren't rainbows and unicorns all the time. (Or, uh, ever.) But to portray breastfeeding as necessarily emotionally draining (as somehow separate from the crazy drainingness of new parenthood of whatever feeding method), or that that is a downside exclusive to breastfeeding (and NOT of formula feeding) is irresponsible and incorrect. And to protest that characterization is not to characterize breastfeeding as being all fluffy bunny all the time.


(Just for the record, I had the urge to take a cheese grater to my nipple at times in the beginning because I hated the sensation of comfort nursing that much. I still have to bite my thumb or gouge my eyes to deal with the sensation occasionally. I know it's not all fluffy bunnies quite personally.)

[folkgirl]

I agree that breastfeeding can be emotionally draining, but I don't think that's a legitimate reason for quitting - at least not under "normal" circumstance. I know there are issues like PPD, long term breast refusal, etc. which makes those first few months all the more complicated. There probably are some (rare, rare) situations where it's better for the mother's mental health to not breastfeed.

But for your average mother who's just having a rough start, that article was so misleading. Also, the flip side of early "emotionally draining" is the fact that if you quit breastfeeding it could potentially make other parts of parenting more difficult in the long term. I can't imagine doing things like getting my daughter to bed, calming her when she's hurt herself, preventing dehydration while comforting her during illness, etc. without breastfeeding. I know all of those things can be done without breastfeeding, but I dare say it's probably a lot harder and less intuitive than using nursing in those situations.

[AllieFaye]

Originally Posted by Arwyn

But that's not breastfeeding per se. That's having problems, and being a new parent, and of course things aren't rainbows and unicorns all the time. (Or, uh, ever.) But to portray breastfeeding as necessarily emotionally draining (as somehow separate from the crazy drainingness of new parenthood of whatever feeding method), or that that is a downside exclusive to breastfeeding (and NOT of formula feeding) is irresponsible and incorrect. And to protest that characterization is not to characterize breastfeeding as being all fluffy bunny all the time.

Good point. They failed to mention how emotionally draining formula feeding can be. They made it seem like it's so "easy and convenient" while neglecting to mention moms who have to try ten different formulas for allergies and reflux. Or, even the hairpulling of trying to figure out if it's allergies or reflux or both. No mention of having to go out at three in the morning because the formula ran out. Magazines like this always gloss over the downsides, and then when lactivists even mention them, they call us Nursing Nazis.

[Llyra]

I believe there's a special place in hell for people who tell new mothers that nipple confusion doesn't exist. I fought nipple preference with two of my three kiddos, and with DD1 I lost the battle completely.

Here I am off to fire off a nasty letter to that magazine.

[mommydancer]

Originally Posted by Llyra

I believe there's a special place in hell for people who tell new mothers that nipple confusion doesn't exist. I fought nipple preference with two of my three kiddos, and with DD1 I lost the battle completely.

Here I am off to fire off a nasty letter to that magazine.

That was kind of why I posted. I feel like the getting started part of
Bfeeding is really hard, and that it can be fragile. Medical proff. people and new mom-targeted magazines have (in my opinion) a responsibilty to give accurate information and not discourage unnecessarily or provide potentially damaging reassurances. They make it out to be a "myth" that nipple differences can create a problem for someone who's trying to establish breastfeeding...and that's out and out crap.

[mommydancer]

Also, did you mind sharing the address I can reach Babytalk to try to express my reaction to this piece? I couldn't find one.

[mommydancer]

Also, did you mind sharing the address I can reach Babytalk to try to express my reaction to this piece? I couldn't find one.

[GooeyRN]

Nipple preference is so real. I wish people would realize that. The LC I was seeing kept trying to get me to give my ds a bottle. She knew I had to exclusively pump for my dd for 18 months. (she couldn't latch, and after several weeks of fingerfeeding I tried a bottle. She then wouldn't even attempt to latch. She realized its easier from a bottle. She didn't then want to fingerfeed anymore, either.) She saw the terror in my face with the word bottle, and she kept saying that it is so rare and that so many babies go between breast and bottle. Yes, I know that many don't have problems. My dd had problems. I never want to EP again.

And yes, I do find bfing emotionally draining. My ds was loosing weight, severely jaundiced, lethargic, not pooping, etc. It caused me a lot of emotional baggage.

[jeanine123]

Here's a link to the article. The nipple confusion one is at the end of page three.

http://www.parenting.com/parenting/b...696052,00.html

And my thoughts:

Supplementing is also a relief for moms who aren't making a lot of milk or are having trouble developing a good latch-on technique.

And unless it's done carefully it's also a very slippery slope, especially if you're already struggling with supply. BFing is the classic supply and demand, if you're not careful with how you introduce and use formula it can really throw a monkey wrench into things. Also, if you're having trouble getting a good latch, chances are using a bottle will only make it worse.

Of course, with formula, you'll be giving up some of the health benefits that are maximized when a baby is exclusively breastfed, but you'll also be giving yourself a break.

Health benefits aren't maximized by Bfing. In fact, there aren't really health benefits to BFing. It's the biologic norm, all it does it keeps your baby's health right where it was meant to be. Formula can increase your baby's risk for many, many illnesses, both now and in the future. And, depending on whether or not your baby will tolerate the formula (and you'll never know until after you give it) you may not get any kind of a break at all. Especially if you're using formula while building up your supply since you'll still need to pump while you're baby is drinking the formula since you still need to create the demand in order to boost the supply.

I'd continue to quote but I'm at the maximum allowed under Fair Use Laws. The next bit I'm addressing is found in the first paragraph on the second page of the article. I'd like to know what experts they're referring to when they say that you can introduce a bottle as early as two weeks. I'm curious as to what their education in lactation is and how they arrived at this conclusion. Until this can be determined I feel that it is better to wait the extra week or so that is used as the standard now. The weaning advice they give is fairly accurate though, but I wouldn't recommend attempting it as young as they appear to be recommending since it can take up to six weeks for a mom to fully establish a good, consistent supply. And if you're already worried about supply and building it up then it's not a good idea at all to start dropping nursings until you have a well established supply. No matter how good your pump is it will never be as good as a well latched baby.

On to the third page. Not all babies will accept a bottle, no matter when it's introduced. And even if your baby will accept a bottle fine and have no trouble switching from bottle to breast now that does not mean you are out of the woods as far as nipple confusion goes. It could still crop up further down the road since at any time baby could decide that he/she would much rather get food the easy way instead of having to work for it. This doesn't always happen but it's always a possibility and something that should be watched for.

I also do NOT agree at all with the "Nipple Confusion Myth" article at the end. No, nipple confusion will not always occur as they seem to be trying to imply but it most certainly is not a myth or bunk and they are doing noone any favor by disregarding it. I would like to know how long the moms in their survey nursed for.

All in all I think this article leaves much to be desired. Yes, it can be possible for moms to switch from breast to bottle. No, BFing isn't all or nothing, it certainly is possible to BF part time and feed either expressed milk or formula the rest of the time. What I don't like is the cavalier attitude that this article gives off. I feel that they're recommending introducing a bottle far too early, downplaying (to say the least) the many risks of formula and glossing over the potential pitfalls that can occur with combo feeding. Glossing over, or completely ignoring potential risks and hazards does nobody and favors. Once again, another BFing article from a source whose main source of advertising revenue is formula companies. Which always leads me to take their advice with many grains of salt.

[SarahEiley]

I was soooo angry reading that article! I have low supply and breastfeeding has been hard work for me, and even though I have to supplement for DD, I'd never give up. Nipple confusion ABSOLUTELY exists and can have a dramatic effect on the nursing relationship and a mother's milk supply.
They also failed to mention using a supplemental nursing system or Lact-aid, but I'm sure that would be "too much work" for their convenience-starved readers.
I think we should ALL write letters in to share our responses to the article!!!!

[Sandstress]

Originally Posted by Llyra

I believe there's a special place in hell for people who tell new mothers that nipple confusion doesn't exist.

If by "special" you mean "an eternity of pain and torture", then...I agree.

I was discharged from the NICU after 3 months of preemie nipples with holes cut in them and a total of 2 nursing sessions with a pat on the shoulder and a "you'll do great" from the LC. I wish I had known.... I wish she had warned me.

I decided to feed DD how she was telling me she wanted to be fed, hence the EPing.

[TattoMomK]

The only time I failed with breastfeeding was due TO NIPPLE CONFUSION.

I introduced a bottle to my third at 6 weeks. By 16-20 weeks she refused to nurse at all, and between 6 weeks and then it was a struggle to get her to nurse. I didn't have a pump to use for the rest of the time, and we ended up on formula.

I will NEVER do that again. I certainly experienced MORE angst and emotional drain over that formula feeding than I ever did with breastfeeding. Even with cracked nipples and severe pain nursing my first. As the pp said:

But for your average mother who's just having a rough start, that article was so misleading. Also, the flip side of early "emotionally draining" is the fact that if you quit breastfeeding it could potentially make other parts of parenting more difficult in the long term. I can't imagine doing things like getting my daughter to bed, calming her when she's hurt herself, preventing dehydration while comforting her during illness, etc. without breastfeeding. I know all of those things can be done without breastfeeding, but I dare say it's probably a lot harder and less intuitive than using nursing in those situations.

It was hell -- hell, and it was so much harder on me since I had nursed two before her...I was like a ship without a port!

Nope, no nipples other than MINE are touching my 6 week old's lips.

I'll write Baby Talk too. Anyone find an address?

[sapphire_chan]

http://www.parenting.com/parenting/m...692505,00.html

Here's a "contact us" page for the parent company who owns the magazine.