Misinformation is King

I have recently been privy to several new mothers' breastfeeding struggles. It is so frustrating to know these women, but not well enough to give them the straight facts about what is really going wrong with their attempts to nurse their new babies.

Mommy #1 is a friend of a friend. She had a baby born "tongue-tied", which apparently lead to her problems. I have a little experience with this condition, where the tongue is connected to the bottom of the mouth closer to the front than normal. It can prevent a baby from sticking their tongue out, which is necessary for breastfeeding. My nephew was born with this problem; his tongue was connected so close to the front that it looked like a little heart (the middle was pulled in). His was a severe case, and he did have some trouble latching on to the breast. After a week at home, my sister went to see the lactation consultant at the hospital. With her coaching, my nephew and sister were able to breastfeed without problems. The pediatrican wanted her to get the connective tissue clipped because if it wasn't, he would have speech difficulties later on. My sister was scared to have the procedure, so she put it off. The doctor warned her that once he got older, it would become a surgical procedure done under general anesthesia at the hospital. If she did it when he was an infant, it was a simple matter of going to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor's office. She finally did it when he was nine months old, and still successfully nursing. My own son was born with connective tissue closer to the front than normal, but not as close as his cousin. He had absolutely no trouble latching on to the breast and nursed successfully for almost three years. His pediatrician mentioned stretching the tissue, which sounded awful to me. She also said that we could leave it alone and see if it interfered with his speech. We left it alone, and he has had no speech issues.

This new mother I mentioned was given all sorts of information about how to get her daughter to latch on properly. She was told to give the baby a bottle first and then switch to the breast. She also used nipple shields, which covered her nipples with plastic. Her pediatrician had her newborn put under general anesthesia to have her tongue clipped, which is contrary to the information my sister received, as well as the research I've done into treatment options. She was still doing the bottle switch thing after the procedure, which isn't generally indicated. The entire protocol she was told to follow does not jive with what I've read should be done. As new breastfeeding moms, we rely on the help of lactation consultants, nurses, and pediatricians. Unfortuneatly, even lactation consulants can be misinformed about the best course of action. I think that many people, both in and out of the medical profession, look at breastfeeding as a hobby you are trying to pick up. If it works, then you have something to do with your baby. If not, you switch to bottles of formula, and your new hobby can be sterilizing plastic, rubber, and silicone and coordinating cute bottles with baby's outfit. If they understood the differences between breastmilk and formula, maybe they wouldn't set women up for failure so easily. The sad thing is that all of that information is readily available, if they only cared to look.

Mommy #2 is a cousin. Her little boy was born very small (5 lbs). He was jaundiced and went back to the hospital for treatment. My oldest was treated for jaundice while she was in the NICU for her first week. My son developed it, and we treated him with phototherapy at home. She has him home again now, but is having difficulty with breastfeeding him. Apparently, he nurses sometimes and refuses at others. When he refuses, she gives him a bottle of pumped breastmilk. She is tired of pumping already and wants to start giving him formula when he doesn't want the breast. What she doesn't understand is that with every bottle, she is moving further away from breastfeeding her child. Milk flows more quickly from a bottle's nipple; the baby has less work to do to get milk. He will begin to prefer the faster flow; people are lazy, even tiny people :) By giving him the bottles, she rewards the laziness. If she nips this in the bud, then he would have no choice but to nurse.

Mommy #3 is another friend of a friend. She worried that the baby wasn't getting enough milk. Her doctor suggested supplementing with formula. Breastfeeding is a supply and demand system. Every time she gives her hungry baby a bottle of formula, her body is not getting the demand for food. How in the world is that supposed to build up her supply? What she needs to do is drink lots of water, relax, and nurse the baby every time he's hungy. Don't give him a pacifier when you think he only wants to suck, and definitely don't give him a bottle of formula! It won't take long for your body to build up the correct supply of milk.

I think that one of the most frustrating things about these situations is the contributions of misinformation by the doctors involved. These women will fail at breastfeeding and truly believe that it was out of their control. They will have their doctors' assurances that there was nothing they could do. That sets them up for failures with their next babies as well. What's worse, they will share their stories with other pregnant women and new mothers. The poor information will spread like a plague and women who would otherwise have had great breastfeeding success will struggle and give up.

Another aggravating issue is the mother who really doesn't want to continue to breastfeed, but won't own up to it. She uses all sorts of problems to explain why she can't instead of admitting that she won't. The problem with this approach, other than being dishonest, is the same as with the misinformation. Other women will hear their stories and believe that they too cannot nurse.