The snowball effect

[Faliciagayle]

(not sure where this goes)

A woman I know, a not-yet-friend but more-than-acquaintance, just had her baby. Her babe was breech and so she was advised a c-section. To the hospitals credit they did a u/s right before surgery to make sure babe was still breech. I wanted to talk to her when she scheduled the c/s, but I felt unable to since I really don't know her well and she seemed completely at peace with the idea.

Babe was born (yay!), they were separated for maybe 30 mins following delivery and now she's having issues nursing. She said her babes latch was too strong, nursing hurt, her babe lost weight, her milk is slow to come in, and it was recommended by the hospitals LC that she supplement with formula. She *IS* pumping and babe is getting some BM.... I just can't believe that a lactation consultant is promoting such bad advice.

I felt totally unable to tell her anything I've learned, anything I believe in. Part of it has to do with her complete acceptance of the "system" and the whole emotional ball of wax that comes with "well, so long is the baby is healthy" thought process.
I am not, of course, advocating unhealthy babies; but rather I feel the system does not promote circumstances that ultimately foster the healthiest babies and mothers.

The rest of it has to do with how very little I know of this woman...

But the whole thing got me thinking about interventions and how they typically end up snowballing towards some undesirable result and it makes me ache.

Do I, should I, say anything? When is it live and let live? She's a wonderful woman and loves her baby dearly. Would I be forcing my parenting style and philosophy on her by gently suggesting La Leche League...?

[velcromom]

nak
I'd mention they will give free phone consultation and ask if she would like the # for the local leader.

[Stace]

I think it'd be fine to let her know that there are other resources for help and that you'd be happy to put her in contact with someone from LLL or whatever else you could do for her. If she takes you up on the offer, wonderful! If not, I'd leave it alone. She'll know that she can come to you if she changes her mind, and you won't come across as pushy and inadvertently turn her off of the idea.

[Emmeline II]

Isn't there some reason c-section babes appear to loose more weight at first? We need a sticky on nursing c-section babes and their particular issues.

I might tell her that getting a before and after weight in on a LLL scale will give her a better indication of how much her baby is getting; this is important to know because supplementation can reduce her supply, that nursing often hurts at first while the breast adjust to the baby nursing but that that usually dissipates by six weeks, and that Lasinoh and warm compresses are her friend, and that a nursing nest would likely make night nursing easier for her and make it easier for her babe to work on getting her supply up.

Maybe you could put together a packet of your best info and tell her you though she could read through it while pumping or nursing.

[SpringMom]

I think that by offering your experience and support you will be helping her. If this was an unplanned c-section then she is probably very unsure of herself right now and the ability of her body to function in a way that she expects. I have had two c-sections and the first few days were physically difficult. The medications and surgical trauma make everything hurt. It sounds like the LC is not discouraging bf'ing but helping her continue by making the process seem doable ( supplement with formual now and transition to bf'ing full time is possible). My second nursed like a champ from the get go and I consider myself very lucky.

[birdie22]

Originally Posted by Emmeline II

Isn't there some reason c-section babes appear to loose more weight at first?

A bit OT, but I think having the baby longer in the hospital makes the medical staff more AWARE of weight loss. When you're sitting there in the hospital on day 4 waiting for your milk to come in (like I was recently), you can bet every nurse in the place is going to be whispering about how you're starving your baby. If you were at home, you might not even have a WB visit until day 7, at which point the baby's probably starting to gain again.

[*MamaJen*]

I try to live and let live, but in this situation I think I would step in and talk to her about it and offer her advice. She has a window of opportunity to establish breastfeeding, and I wouldn't trust the hospital to help her do it.

[Mommal]

Originally Posted by Emmeline II

Isn't there some reason c-section babes appear to loose more weight at first?

Babies born to moms who had IV fluids during delivery (like c-section moms) tend to be born with a lot of fluid weight on board. The extra fluids are quickly excreted, making newborn weight loss appear more dramatic than it really is.

Moms who birth via c-section also tend to have their milk come in a little later than vaginal-birthing moms, and that can also contribute to infant weight loss.

To the OP: do you know this woman well enough to stop by with a casserole and the phone numbers for LLL and a good LC? I know when I was struggling with nursing, it was incredibly helpful when other moms shared the stories of their struggles. Once I realized I wasn't alone in having problems with nursing, I stopped feeling ashamed of my "failure" and was more willing to seek help.

[julie128]

Grrr. Hospitals things up for new mothers and babies all the time. I worked with a number of mothers this summer whose babies all had nipple confusion from the nurses giving bottles and pacifiers. It can be very frustrating to get the baby latching on again.

I suggest that you offer to go over and help out your friend.
Here are some free online video clips that your friend can watch to help further: http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/newman.shtml
http://www.thebirthden.com/Newman.html
http://www.gentlemothering.ca/DrNewmanVideos.htm

Here's a suggestion for your friend:
Let the baby feed however s/he is comfortable (bottle, breast, cup, eyedropper), until s/he falls asleep. At this point, have mom take baby to bed, baby undressed and mom w/o shirt and bra. When baby awakens, it's likely that s/he will start rooting for the breast and find it on her/his own. This requires patience. It can take an hour, but maybe only a few minutes.

[Lil'M]

Originally Posted by Emmeline II

I might tell her that getting a before and after weight in on a LLL scale will give her a better indication of how much her baby is getting;

Just to note: I think you mean a lactation consultant's scale. LLL Leaders are volunteers and I've never met one (unless she was also an IBCLC with a private practice) with a digital infant scale who weighs babies as a regular LLL activity. And I speak from experience. Someone out there correct me if that is a typical LLL service somewhere else.

[Swan3]

The Snowball Effect

Hi I'm Lizette and new here as of today!

Not sure if it's already been mentioned, but with this sort of situation it might be helpful to point things in the right direction without being critical of her medical professionals (even though we know they could be doing so much more!)

If she's been told to supplement, maybe she should be doing it with an SNS so that she doesn't encourage nipple confusion? Also I like PP's suggestion of taking baby and just hanging out nursing all day/all night!

Good luck and it sounds like you'll be a great support to her!