Still Giving Bad Advice on Breastfeeding
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Tuesday, December 12, 2006
I won't go into a total rant about all the bad advice I've heard doctors give over the years when it comes to breastfeeding, but I couldn't resist pointing out the idiocy of some advice that I just spotted.From The Star-Ledger:
I advise mothers to nurse from each breast with every feed and to switch every five minutes, limiting feedings to 20 minutes. I think it's important to stop after 20 minutes to allow the breasts to refill and the nipples to rest.
Huh? Seriously? Allowing the breasts to "refill?"
I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that they emptied...or that they refilled on their own without baby nursing to the point of not getting more than drops. Last time I checked, baby needed to "empty" the breast in order to tell the body to create MORE milk the next time.
And switch every five minutes?
Good gravy! Can you imagine nursing in public if you had to switch breasts every five minutes? Heck, can you imagine nursing at home with a stop watch in one hand as you prepared to yank your peacefully nursing child from the breast so that you could start the process all over again?
Ever hear of hind milk?
*sigh* Why does this blather continue to be spread by people who should know better?
Labels: Breastfeeding Advice
The one that irks me is the "drink X number of glasses of water per day to make enough milk". Anyone see native women carrying around bottled water all day long?
Oh and btw, I invited you to a blog party here:
http://www.carrielauth.com/blog/index.html
Just last week I encountered some shockingly bad BF advice on the Dr. Greene website:
http://www.drgreene.com/21_210.html
http://www.drgreene.com/21_616.html
I'm so grateful I found the kellymom website early on, or I'd never have broken through the constantly-nibbling-and-falling-asleep-newborn problem (agitate the baby as much as it takes for her to wake up enough to fill her belly; lather, rinse repeat), much less the keeping-and-increasing-supply-while-working problem (pump and nurse as much as possible, especially during the night when the pituitary is far more receptive to supply cues!).
If I'd absorbed this "rest to replenish" b.s. and acted accordingly I seriously doubt the kidlet and I would still be nursing at all, much less exclusively.
"Don't feed your baby more often than every hour-and-a-half to two hours. She may want to eat more often, but you will not have the milk she needs in less than an hour-and-a-half (from start time to start time). "
Why Why WHY WHY WHY???!!!
Why do people not understand the supply and demand means just that...the supply rises to meet the demand!
How is that so hard to understand?
Sadly, I actually have a friend who, with her first 2 children wore a sports watch that went off every 3 hours to que her to nurse baby. Then as baby latched on, she would set it again to go off in 10-15 min. to signal a side change or an end of nursing time! She is MAJOR into scheduleing your children's feedings & says that they sleep through the night faster when you do this.
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