Keeping the Choice-Formula vs. Breast

Bottle Feeding

 

All I can say about Amy’s story, below, is THIS. THIS is why breastfeeding support must be secondary to supporting moms, full stop. THIS is why the medical community and the breastfeeding advocacy machine is failing us. THIS is why there are “defensive formula feeders” peppering message boards, attempting to share their truths, and being accused of making up stories and scaring other women out of nursing. THIS is why women are getting angry and fighting back. THIS is why people are starting to think the pendulum has swung so far and so hard that it’s bonked us all in the head and made us stupid. This. This. And THIS.

via FFF Friday: “I didn’t have the confidence or the mental clarity to stand up for myself.” – Fearless Formula Feeder.

 

With the present increased incidence of breast-feeding, clinicians need to be prepared to identify and manage problems in lactation. Most problems are related to insufficient knowledge, inappropriate routines, and lack of confidence and are easily managed or prevented by prenatal education, anticipatory guidance, and adequate support. Increasing evidence exists that primary causes of lactation failure also occur and can preclude successful lactation, even among highly motivated women.

via Lactation Failure Due to Insufficient Glandular Development of the Breast.

It seems that the pendulum has indeed swung too far in the direction of breastfeeding and made it very uncomfortable for moms to choose formula if they do not want to breastfeed their baby for whatever reason.

The Fearless Formula Feeder has posted Amy’s story which speaks to moms who have insufficient glandular tissue. This is a condition that poses problems for moms, who are trying to breast feed.

As a clinician, it is so important to listen to your client and really try to understand the whole picture…a non-judgmental attitude is the key to helping anyone. If you find yourself making judgements, then you should refer your client to someone else…you are not the right helper. This goes for lactation consultants as well as well meaning friends.

I know that there is much more knowledge available since I had my own children but in the 70’s and 80’s there really was more understanding and acceptance of mom’s feeding choices. We may not have been that accepting of breastfeeding in public but that was a minor problem compared to the “bullying” situation we are currently experiencing.

It is not abusive to formula feed your baby and although breastfeeding may be best it is not necessarily the right choice in all cases.

Let’s try to support moms…please!

Postpartum Depression & Breast Feeding, Infant Sleep, Children & Allergies….

 heart drops

Sleep is so important and so many of us crave it…makes me wonder if it doesn’t start right at the beginning of our lives when we are infants. After all it is one of the topics so hotly discussed among parenting experts.

So how do we manage to get our newborns to sleep thus giving ourselves much needed time to sleep?

 

Nothing can prepare you for the changes in your sleep when you welcome a newborn baby into your family. Experienced parents will issue dire warnings and tell you to sleep while you can during the last few weeks of pregnancy. (And you will think, yeah right, there’s a large boulder resting on my bladder, and sometimes it kicks for good measure.)

 

 

If you breast feed do you have less of a chance of developing PPD (Postpartum Depression)? Here is some interesting facts from FFF (Fearless Formula Feeder) that questions this premise.

The same question holds for the connection between breastfeeding and postpartum depression. Some researchers have found a correlation between lack of breastfeeding and higher incidence of depression; however, the majority of these studies don’t factor in why the mother isn’t breastfeeding in the first place. A 2009 study found that women who exhibited pregnancy-related anxiety or prenatal depressive symptoms were roughly two times more likely than women without these mood disorders to plan to formula feed. (12) “Prenatal mood disorders may affect a woman’s plans to breastfeed and may be early risk factors for failure to breastfeed,” the researchers point out. And even if the intention to breastfeed is there, multiple factors inform infant-feeding choices once a woman leaves the hospital.

Feeling like a failure, dealing with pain, frustration, and exhaustion, and having a baby who screams at the sight of her, could make any mother feel overwhelmed, let alone one who’s already on the brink of actual PPD. Maybe for those of us more prone to anxiety or depression, the stress of breastfeeding struggles is just the camel’s dreaded straw.

 

Are there allergies in your family, if so, there is a community online for Moms of Allergic Children.  I have also included a link to a mom’s story of her son who has asthma.

 

Moms of kids with allergies have to do double duty to keep their bundles of joy safe, happy, and healthy. In the Moms of Allergic Children community, moms are sharing their concerns and questions about allergies. Here are some quick tips from Dr. Oz for them and others on how to treat — and prevent — some common allergies.

 

Do you know about the baby formula scandal?

Bottle Feeding

If you are familiar with my blog you already know that I support moms and their freedom of choice when it comes to feeding their babies. Although as a professional, I know that breast feeding is healthier for babies, I also know that there are circumstances in every mom’s life that influence the choice she makes as to whether to breast or bottle feed.

This being said, I find Nestle’s history with regard to formula feeding is worthwhile knowing, so that when a new mom is making her feeding choice, she does it with full knowledge of how formula makers try to influence her directly and indirectly.

I want to also say that I am not judging moms who formula feed…I did and have never regretted it. My choice was made for me since I was on Heparin and Coumadin which passes to the infant in breast milk… but to be truly honest as a mother-baby nurse in the late 70’s and 80’s  I saw so many moms have such a difficult time breast feeding I was scared to try it myself.

And in the effort of disclosure, I am aware of my personal experience and choices so I make an effort not to allow my feelings to influence my work with pre-natal and new moms, who are desiring to breast feed.

Please read Nestle’s history in the following link…I think that you will find it very interesting. It is big business at its worst!

Nestle’s Infant Formula Scandal – Business Insider.

Related posts:

https://parentingintheloop.com/2013/04/23/what-moms-should-know-about-feeding-baby/

Why Bottle Feeding Needs Support…Weekend Reading

 Bottle Feeding Baby

Bottle Feeding is under attack and we all know moms who for very good reasons could not breast feed. We also know moms who bottle feed by choice.

I respect choice, as a nurse and social worker it is important that I do, because we all deserve support in our choices and decisions as to how we feed our babies. That is not to say,  I would not provide a mom with information about both breast and bottle feeding but ultimately it is mom’s decision.

For those moms who need support, I recommend visiting the The Fearless Formula Feeder.  Suzane Barston provides a forum for moms to discuss formula feeding in a very non-threatening, nonjudgmental way.

If you formula feed or know of any mom that does then this is a must read. It will connect you with Suzane Barston and The Fearless Formula Feeder.

 

I began following Suzie Barston’s blog, Fearless Formula Feeder several months ago, and have been impressed with her ability to (a) unpack the science, and (b) impact sensibility and respect for women who choose to formula feed. After reading her book and then interviewing Suzie, I know that this community will appreciate her academic rigor, and social insights.  – Walker Karraa

 

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Toast Tuesday…Feeding Baby!

Feeding Baby

Whenever I have an idea about what is needed out there on the “world” wide web…surprise I find it.

That is what happened a few months ago when I was reading about new moms and breastfeeding in New York City where Mayor Bloomberg initiated a program “Latch on NYC”.

Since when does a city mayor have so much to say about how a mom feeds her baby and orders formula kept under lock and key on the maternity floor? I was perplexed by yet another Bloomberg health proclamation.

I believe that moms can choose how to feed their infants

I believe and know that breast milk is best.

I believe that some women cannot breast feed successfully.

I believe that no mom should feel guilty or be made to feel guilty because she chooses not to breast feed.

I believe that hospital staff should be educated and non-judgmental when it comes to a mother’s choice about feeding her baby.

I believe that hospital staff should not bottle feed a baby that is breast feeding without a medical reason to do so and and consulting with the mother.

I believe that when moms are having difficulty breastfeeding their infant they should have a place to go that will encourage them, yet not make them feel guilty and remorseful if they cannot continue to breast feed.

I believe that the Fearless Formula Feeder is a place that women can visit and be supported no matter…whether breast or bottle feeding.

Thank you, Fearless Formula Feeder!

WHAT IS THE FEARLESS FORMULA FEEDER?

FFF is a blog – and community – dedicated to infant feeding choice, and committed to providing non-judgmental support for all new parents. It exists to protect women from misleading or misrepresented “facts”; essentialist ideals about what mothers should think, feel, or do; government and health authorities who form policy statements based on ambivalent research; and the insidious beast known as Internetus Trolliamus, Mommy Blog Varietal.

via About the FFF | Fearless Formula Feeder.