Category: Stories from Clinicians

The Rest of My Breastfeeding Story

8 Comments

Written by Fed is Best Foundation Co-Founder Christie del Castillo-Hegyi, M.D. 

Not many people know the rest of my breastfeeding story, the part that happened after my son’s hospitalization. People assume that because I spend most of my time advocating for safe infant feeding practices by educating moms on how to breastfeed safely, that I am against breastfeeding or want mothers to feel like exclusive breastfeeding is unsafe. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Clearly if a mother has enough breast milk, exclusive breastfeeding is a wonderful way to feed her child, if that’s how she chooses to feed them. But I had to learn the hard way that being a good mother is not defined by exclusive breastfeeding.

Continue reading →

Q&A: One Nurse’s View on Strict Breastfeeding Policies

18 Comments

Jody Segrave-Daly, our co-founder and the pro-mom advocate known as “The Momivist” regularly interviews nurses about their view and experiences, working with strict breastfeeding-only policies. Here is an excellently informative interview with a nurse we’ll call Sarah, as she’s asked we keep her name and hospital anonymous. 

Jody Segrave-Daly, AKA The Momivist: What are the most common encounters that you see with breastfed babies in the first 48 hours of life,  in your hospital, which has strict breastfeeding policies?

Sarah, RN at Hospital with Strict Breastfeeding Policies: I’ll start with the positive. One thing I really like about hospitals that have these policies, such as the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative, is the emphasis on skin-to-skin after delivery. Instead of baby immediately being taken to a warmer, baby is placed on mom’s chest. Mothers seem to really enjoy this immediate contact with their babies, babies’ vital signs tend to stabilize better, and breastfeeding is encouraged in the first hour after birth (if baby shows interest). Continue reading →