Enough Said

A recent article from The New York Times

 "A Free Miracle Food"

If at First

   Many, many times a pregnant mom will come to me and say, “I want to breastfeed, but don’t know if I can – it didn’t work the first time”. I can think of a lot of success stories, but I feel really blessed when a mom that I have worked with has been able to nurse when she couldn’t before. Every baby is different and every birth is a new chance to breastfeed.

   What happened last time? It’s important to think about why breastfeeding was unsuccessful and see if those issues can be avoided this time. Often, early supplementation with formula is the culprit and it often happens in the hospital. This is such a set-up for problems! I tell moms to nurse early and often and to resist offers of formula (“so mom can rest”, e.g.). Babies don’t need to eat so much in the first 24-48 hours, nor do they automatically require supplementation if they have greater than 7-10% weight loss. An immediate assessment of breastfeeding, by an IBCLC, can help to turn things around.What about anatomical issues like tongue tie (baby) or inverted nipples (mom)? Inverted nipples can be easier to evert with later pregnancies and, a sibling of tongue-tie means that the baby should definitely be evaluated, both for tongue tie and labial or lip ties as well.Some situations cannot be resolved, such as glandular insufficiency or galactosemia, but these are not very common. Most important is to support the mother to have a new and better experience and hopefully, to successfully breastfeed.