When I was pregnant, I was determined to breastfeed. It was going to be easy, it was going to be natural. Formula was for lazy people, formula was for selfish women. Formula was poison for my baby. The breastfeeding groups I joined on Facebook only reinforced these mantras even further. Whenever people asked if I was going to breast or bottle feed my baby, I proudly told them that I was going to breastfeed. Nothing was going to stop me.
I had no idea how ignorant I truly was. Continue reading
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When our son was born, he weighed 6 pounds 5 oz., and we had issues with him latching from the start. Part of the problem was I had flat nipples, so the nurse gave us a shield and showed me how to use it, and he seemed to do much better. He seemed to be a very content and alert baby. He lost almost 10 percent of his birth weight during our hospital stay, and we were discharged to see our pediatrician for a follow-up.
Written by Fed is Best Co-Founder, Christie del Castillo-Hegyi, M.D.
Professionals in the medical community and parents have asked questions regarding whether or not newborn starvation from insufficient exclusive breastfeeding is linked to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in children and what research has been done regarding a possible connection.
The short answer is no. There is no definitive linkage, and we don’t have clear answers when we’re queried about this fact – because in fact, the science is not entirely clear on this point.
Weighing 9.5 pounds at 4 months
My fourth baby ended up hospitalized for failure to thrive and required a nasogastric tube to feed her. Despite constant breastfeeding, excellent milk supply and milk transfer, she never gained enough weight and then began losing weight. She was born weighing 8 pounds and when admitted to the hospital she weighed 9 pounds, 5 ounces.
I worked in labor and delivery and postpartum units as a tech and then a registered nurse for 6 years at a BFHI designated hospital and I was so indoctrinated by “Breast is Best” that I truly believed “a hungry baby wouldn’t starve” and every mother can exclusively breastfeed, including me.
During the hospital stay my baby was subjected to a profusion of invasive tests, and it was determined my breast milk lacked sufficient fat, calories and nutrients to nourish her. I was in absolute shock and disbelief!
Elena’s doctors ordered her to begin feedings with a 24 calorie formula for the first 
months and then she was fed a 22 calorie formula to help her gain enough catch-up weight. We were able to remove her feeding tube after a month when she began to gain weight and thrive and eventually she was transitioned to a regular 20 calorie formula.
With my first 3 babies, I fed them a combination of breast milk and formula. My twins always received more formula than breast milk because I couldn’t keep up with their demands. My 3rd baby was called “slow to gain” at four months so I increased the amount of formula he got and by 6 months he was solely on formula. In hindsight, my milk was probably insufficient then too but my other babies always took a bottle so it was easy to supplement them with a bottle.
Thankfully my sweet baby is now almost 2 years old and perfectly healthy but I will never ever spread the “Breast is Best” myth again!
NG tube removed, thriving
I am now a staunch #FedIsBest advocate and will be joining The Fed Is Best Foundation’s Nurse Advocacy Team so that we can educate other health care providers and provide them with current, clinically safe and evidence- based infant feeding practices.
~Karen Creecy, RN
For more information about breast milk composition deficiencies, please read my blog interview with: Dr. Shannon Kelleher and Dr. Shannon Kelleher 2
You can become a Fed is Best Advocate and wear our charm to spread our message by making a donation at:
https://www.generosity.com/…/the-fed-is-best-fou…/x/15553740
Written by Fed is Best Co-Founder, Christie del Castillo-Hegyi, M.D.
In the latest issue of The Journal of the American Medical Assocation (JAMA), pediatricians and public health investigators Dr. Valerie Flaherman, M.D., M.P.H. and Dr. Isabelle Von Kohorn, M.D., Ph.D. co-wrote an editorial on the United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF)’s updated recommendations for primary care interventions that support breastfeeding. Continue reading
