Verity2011
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Thought I would just write a quick post on my experience of breastfeeding in hospital. When my LO and I were receiving antibiotics for 5 days, I ended up getting a really tough time from the staff at the hospital and I think some moral support might have just made it a little easier so thought I would pass it along.
On the first night, Ariel's temp dropped slightly - this is very very normal in newborns, but they still did a glucose test at 2 in the morning (after me having no sleep since before labour). His glucose was only slightly on the low side but a midwife came along and just told me they were going to top him up with formula. It took all my energy to refuse and I was met with her treating me like I was hurting my own son and telling me if I refused he would end up in SCBU. Again with what little energy I had left, I said fine but that I was going too. At SCBU they again tried to force me to top up with formula but I said I wanted to try other options first. In the end I fed Ariel skin to skin for over an hour in SCBU and sure enough his temp and glucose levels both rose
- This was very tough to do as I was exhausted and emotional but was the right thing for cub and I. Temperature does tend to drop in newborn as does glucose. If glucose is worryingly low, formula top ups are actually not very efficient and a glucose drip is much better.
Two days later, one of the nurses at SCBU (we were only there for his antibiotics twice a day) thought he looked slightly jaundice (it turns out he wasn't) and told me if I hadn't flushed it out by the next day they would start him on formula top ups. Again I refused and it turned out cub never even had jaundice. Formula top ups are not particularly effective for jaundice either. It is also worth remembering that most newborns get a little bit of jaundice and just remember to drink plenty of water.
The next day, again in SCBU, a nurse remarked on how big Ariel is and began calculating how much milk he would need. She then exclaimed and told me that not only could I not produce enough but my boobs were clearly too small to feed him adequately so I needed to top him up with formula. I was ready to scream at this point. If you and the LO establish good feeding and it's going well, then big babies can be exclusively breastfed. Similarly breast size has no relation whatsoever to milk production.
In the end I stuck to my guns as not only have I been desperate to breastfeed but I also love it and Ariel and I both took to it straight away with no problems. I really had to fight the NHS on this one and it was so upsetting for them to keep threatening to take my baby away from me and force formula. At his 5 day weigh when most babies (especially breastfed) can lose up to 10% of their birth weight - Ariel had in fact gained 100g! He then gained another 260g by day 10 and at 4 weeks just gone he is now 12lbs!
Don't let anyone pressure you out of breastfeeding if you're happy with the way it's going - remember you know yourself and your baby best. From my experience the hospital can be very neglectful of new mummies' needs when it comes to breastfeeding so I thought I would just try and spread some moral support.
By the way this is by no means trying to push breastfeeding. I think it is equally wrong when the NHS tries to bully women into breastfeeding when they're not happy or they are having problems with milk production or latching etc. I totally think it is every woman's individual choice and unfortunately there can be problems - ultimately a happy mummy is the best mummy there is - I just wanted to share my experience from the other side.
On the first night, Ariel's temp dropped slightly - this is very very normal in newborns, but they still did a glucose test at 2 in the morning (after me having no sleep since before labour). His glucose was only slightly on the low side but a midwife came along and just told me they were going to top him up with formula. It took all my energy to refuse and I was met with her treating me like I was hurting my own son and telling me if I refused he would end up in SCBU. Again with what little energy I had left, I said fine but that I was going too. At SCBU they again tried to force me to top up with formula but I said I wanted to try other options first. In the end I fed Ariel skin to skin for over an hour in SCBU and sure enough his temp and glucose levels both rose
- This was very tough to do as I was exhausted and emotional but was the right thing for cub and I. Temperature does tend to drop in newborn as does glucose. If glucose is worryingly low, formula top ups are actually not very efficient and a glucose drip is much better. Two days later, one of the nurses at SCBU (we were only there for his antibiotics twice a day) thought he looked slightly jaundice (it turns out he wasn't) and told me if I hadn't flushed it out by the next day they would start him on formula top ups. Again I refused and it turned out cub never even had jaundice. Formula top ups are not particularly effective for jaundice either. It is also worth remembering that most newborns get a little bit of jaundice and just remember to drink plenty of water.
The next day, again in SCBU, a nurse remarked on how big Ariel is and began calculating how much milk he would need. She then exclaimed and told me that not only could I not produce enough but my boobs were clearly too small to feed him adequately so I needed to top him up with formula. I was ready to scream at this point. If you and the LO establish good feeding and it's going well, then big babies can be exclusively breastfed. Similarly breast size has no relation whatsoever to milk production.
In the end I stuck to my guns as not only have I been desperate to breastfeed but I also love it and Ariel and I both took to it straight away with no problems. I really had to fight the NHS on this one and it was so upsetting for them to keep threatening to take my baby away from me and force formula. At his 5 day weigh when most babies (especially breastfed) can lose up to 10% of their birth weight - Ariel had in fact gained 100g! He then gained another 260g by day 10 and at 4 weeks just gone he is now 12lbs!
Don't let anyone pressure you out of breastfeeding if you're happy with the way it's going - remember you know yourself and your baby best. From my experience the hospital can be very neglectful of new mummies' needs when it comes to breastfeeding so I thought I would just try and spread some moral support.
By the way this is by no means trying to push breastfeeding. I think it is equally wrong when the NHS tries to bully women into breastfeeding when they're not happy or they are having problems with milk production or latching etc. I totally think it is every woman's individual choice and unfortunately there can be problems - ultimately a happy mummy is the best mummy there is - I just wanted to share my experience from the other side.
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