How Breastfeeding Coercion Stripped this Psychiatrist of Her Confidence and Mental Health

 

By Michelle M., Psychiatrist, MD, and First-Time Mother

It’s taken me a long time to really have the strength to talk about this, but I think it’s time.

I’m a 40-year-old, first time mom to an amazing 9-month-old son. Throughout my pregnancy I was repeatedly asked if I would breastfeed and received endless lectures on the benefits.  I was honestly skeptical about the claimed breastfeeding benefits… (liquid gold? seriously?), but continued to answer “yes”, as it felt like saying “no” would be the wrong answer.

I figured I would try, and if it worked, great!  If it didn’t, then formula was “Plan B”.  I really didn’t think much of it, and figured the baby would get fed one way or another.

Fast forward to my 37th week of pregnancy.  My water broke with no warning, and I had an awful labor due to a failed epidural and uterine tachysystole.  Then to top it all off, I had an emergency c-section when my baby’s heart rate disappeared from the monitors. Labor and delivery didn’t go exactly as planned, but I was elated when it was over, and I had my beautiful baby. 

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Why it’s Time to Stop Teaching Parents Paced Bottle Feeding and Teach Responsive Feeding As Recommended by the AAP

Paced bottle feeding is a wildly popular bottle feeding technique that is promoted as the best way to feed babies who are breastfed. When I did a google search for paced bottle feeding, there were a whopping 572,000,000 results! What’s more, definitions of paced bottle feeding techniques varied significantly, often contradicting each other,  and there were many unproven claims to promoting paced feeding. 

As a 31-year NICU nurse and lactation consultant, I’m mystified why paced feeding for healthy term babies has become the norm. Pace feeding is a therapeutic feeding technique primarily used for medically complex and premature babies whose suck, swallow, and breathe (SSB) reflex is not coordinated or matured, which is essential to bottle-feed without aspirating milk into the lungs.  

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and global infant feeding guidelines advocate and promote responsive feeding, which is uniquely different from paced feeding.  Full-term, healthy babies are born with their SSB coordination fully developed and can responsive bottle feed safely.

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Belgian Mother Shares How Her Babies Became Lethargic After Being Denied Supplemental Milk by Hospital Staff

A Letter from Karlyne C. from Belgium

I would like to share my experience in hopes that it can be useful. My name is Karlyne, I am the mother of 3 children and live in Belgium. 

My first daughter, Moïra, was born in 2018. I had not looked up any information about breastfeeding during my pregnancy, I thought that since it is a natural process, it would be easy and that there was nothing more to know than the fact that I should put the baby on breast when she showed signs of hunger. When she was born, that is what I did, I put her on my breast.

But she could not manage to latch on, she would systematically let go of the breast. I asked the midwives who worked in the maternity ward for help. They would crumple my nipples while firmly holding her head to try to shove them in her mouth despite her cries. Hours went by without her being able to feed, and I could tell she was getting weaker; all the while the midwives told me everything was normal. In response to my insistence, I was told to express colostrum in a small spoon and to give it to her if it could reassure me. I produced at most a few drops of colostrum, yet the midwives kept telling me that I had enormous quantities, and that a baby’s stomach is minuscule, that some five halves of those small spoons every 2 to 3 hours would be more than enough. Those few drops, Moïra refused because the spoon in her mouth made her nauseous, so she would not take it.  The midwives refused to bring me a clean spoon for me to try again, telling me that supplementing once was enough. 

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How To Prepare For Supplementing When Breastfeeding Your Baby In The Hospital

Mothers who experienced delayed onset of milk production or experienced low milk supply with their first baby often contact us for support to try breastfeeding again. They typically have anticipatory anxiety because they have lost trust in their lactation professionals and hospital staff and are unwilling to attempt breastfeeding again without supplementation. They want to know how to supplement their baby until their milk supply becomes sufficient to feed them safely while providing proper breastfeeding stimulation for optimal milk production.

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My Breastfed Baby Starved While Under The Care Of Health Professionals For 5 Weeks

My beautiful baby girl Mary-Kate was delivered by emergency c-section, and although there were complications during labor, she was healthy on arrival. Having done a bit of research and listened to the advice of professionals, as well as the threat of the global pandemic posing a risk, I decided I would breastfeed my daughter, to provide her with passive antibodies for COVID-19 from my milk.

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