The NICU: How It Hurts to be Helped

My firstborn spent her first five days in an NICU. I am still surprised that I managed to begin and continue breastfeeding under those circumstances, even though it was almost eight years ago. It bothers me to know even after all that time, breastfeeding in NICU's still isn't what it should be. I have read journal articles in periodicals directed at NICU professionals detailing the benefits of breastmilk and the act of breastfeeding itself to premature and sick newborns. I have read instructions to these professionals on how to better facilitate and accommodate breastfeeding mothers. Unfortunately, I have not seen much change in the
behaviours of these professionals.

I understand that it is easier to measure the input of formula when you are trying to get an preemie to gain weight. I understand that things flow more smoothly for the NICU when babies are on fixed feeding schedules. I understand that mothers constantly being underfoot can be a nuisance in the unit. I also understand that breastmilk is highly superior for all infants, including premature ones. I know that skin to skin contact is very important for babies to gain weight, regulate their temperatures, steady their breathing, and bond with their mothers. Did you know that premature babies are at a much higher risk for child abuse later on? The thinking is that their mothers aren't as bonded to them as they would be had the child not been kept away from them by medical necessity.

If breastfeeding was truly believed to be important by NICU professionals across the country, then there would be changes made in the way it is approached. I have a niece in the NICU right now. Her mom is dedicated and nursing and pumping so that she can breastfeed her daughter. She is being undermined by the staff, whether she recognizes it or not:

• She is allowed to nurse her baby every three hours. Breastfed babies should be allowed to nurse as frequently as they want. Breastmilk is much more easily and quickly digested than formula, yet this baby is being fed on a formula schedule. What a shock; she isn't gaining enough weight, in fact she's losing more than they would like. What is an NICU to do then? They give her bottles of pumped milk, which they have now decided to fortify with formula.
• She was told to pump before coming in to nurse the baby. That means that the premature infant who everyone is so concerned about losing weight and using too much energy has to work harder to stimulate the let-down because any of the milk left over from the last feeding has already been pumped out.

It is very hard as the mother of an NICU patient to recognize the fraud when a nurse tells you why they want you to do this or that. You know that they want to heal your child and send her home with you, and you want to do everything they say will help the baby reach that goal. You don't want to cause trouble, and you don't want to say things that they might dispute. The thing that every pregnant woman should understand before she has her baby is that the NICU isn't trying to deceive you. They aren't sneaking around to make breastfeeding difficult or impossible for you. They honestly don't recognize breastfeeding as having the value that it truly does, so they aren't working hard to preserve it. In a society that assumes that all babies will eventually be on bottles of formula anyway, they don't see a reason to fight that eventuality.