Category: Post-Partum Depression and Mental Health

Fed Is Best- And I’m Fed Up!

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“Are you breastfeeding or formula feeding?”  I cringed as I overheard a complete stranger asking my husband this question while we were shopping for baby clothes. “Formula,” my husband replied. “I can’t believe she asked you that!” I exclaimed as she walked away. “How is that any of her business?” He shrugged and replied, “maybe she’s pregnant and is trying to figure out if she should breastfeed.” “It’s still none of her business,” I said. “If she had asked me, I would have said we’re breastfeeding.” 

Yes, that’s right, I would have lied to a random woman because I was afraid she would judge me. Despite my anger at this stranger, however, I wasn’t necessarily worried about what she thought of me; it was about what I thought of me. I felt guilty about formula feeding. 

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Hospital Drops Baby Friendly Program After Doctors Baby Was Harmed

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Written by an anesthesiologist and Intensivist physician

“The biggest achievement of my life as a physician was stopping my hospital’s Baby-Friendly program after my child was harmed.”

It was September 20th, and we were headed to the hospital for my induction.  I was nervous, as any first-time mother would be. I was worried that I was doing the wrong thing, even though I knew the literature, and my physicians supported my decision for an elective induction at 40 weeks. I was already dilated to 4 cm and my baby had dropped way back at 33 weeks.  We all thought it would take just a hint of Pitocin, but I labored for 24 hours until my son was born. I was later told that he was born with a compound hand (up by his head), causing the prolonged pushing time and his distress with each contraction.

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Baby-Friendly USA Acknowledges Their Mistakes; Are They Going To Make Real Changes In The New Year Or Are They Providing Lip Service To Mothers?

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Dear BFUSA,

Thank you for your long-overdue public acknowledgment endorsing what the Fed Is Best Foundation has been fiercely advocating for over the past 3 years. 

According to your recent blog post you now agree with us that:

1. Delayed onset of copious milk production is common. 

BFUSA: “Delayed lactogenesis is actually increasingly common because the risk factors for it are potentially increasing,” Dr. Rosen-Carole says. “When a baby is born into that situation, the goal is to closely monitor what the baby is doing, instead of giving a bottle right away. “If the baby is hungry and they’re not getting enough milk out of the mother’s breast, then they need to be supplemented,” she says. 

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Mothers Describe Their Triple Feeding Experiences and The Impact It had On Their Mental and Physical Health

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Written by Jody Segrave-Daly, RN, IBCLC and Lynnette Hafken, MA, IBCLC

 What is “triple feeding?” 

Mothers who triple feed will feed their babies at the breast, immediately pump and deliver any expressed milk (and/or formula supplement) through a bottle or sometimes even a syringe to the infant.  

Triple feeding originated in the NICU for premature infants who were learning to breastfeed but were unable to empty the breast completely. In order to preserve or increase the milk supply, the breasts were pumped after nursing and the milk was saved for the next supplemental feeding. In this way, the premature baby was nurtured until he or she was strong enough to only nurse from the breast. This was sustainable because the parent has access to nurses and lactation professionals to assist her during the triple feeding cycle.

For full-term babies with ineffective milk removal or moms with low milk supplies, the triple feeding cycle at home is recommended by some lactation consultants.   Continue reading →

Brittany, DMER, Breastfeeding, Formula-Feeding

Fed is Best Real Mom Series: Brittany Littlefield

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Brittany Littlefield is a mom who shares with her experience trying to breastfeed her children. She discusses the challenges she faced breastfeeding and needing to find a community that accepted her experience and ultimately, her decision to stop breastfeeding. She discusses the shame and guilt mothers are subject to based on how they feed their babies and calls for society to support every mother, regardless of how she feeds.