Last week we showed the results of a survey of 155 mothers who were breastfeeding for a long time about support and criticism or information errors they received from their relatives, friends and strangers as well as professionals from the Health.
About the beliefs or misinformation of family and friends (or strangers) we do not comment anything, because they have no obligation to know (if they have a moral obligation not to comment on what they do not know, but of course, whoever thinks does it because he thinks he knows), however we started talking about pediatricians last week and we will talk about nurses today because, both one and the other, they should have up-to-date knowledge about breastfeeding and in many cases it is not.
This lack of recycling is causing a real problem for many mothers and, what is worse, hundreds of visits in a situation never experienced before: The patient often has more information (or more current information) than the professional. This means that many mothers end up distrusting pediatricians and nurses or even end up facing each other or omitting data so as not to be judged.
I hope these tickets serve as a touch of attention for those of us who are health professionals, since The situations that I will relate next, experienced by the mothers surveyed with their children's nurses should never have occurred.
Introduction of early complementary feeding (before six months)
As we discussed the other day when we talk about pediatricians, Ideally, when a baby drinks breast milk, do so exclusively until six months. Years ago the pattern was different and after 3 months the babies began to drink orange juice, four cereals (sometimes before), etc., however these dates have been delayed because milk is better food and because until six months do not start to need other things.
To recommend offering food before six months is, today, an outdated advice. It is not a very problematic recommendation if it is explained in an optional way ("if you want you can start"), but it can lead to confusion and misunderstanding if it is explained in a more imperative way ("now you have to start eating").
“Give cow's milk that is better than yours”
This is advice to a mother who breastfeeds a baby over one year, when they can start drinking cow's milk. As far as I understand, cows produce milk to breastfeed their young, born with a weight of about 30-40 kg and Women produce milk to breastfeed their babies, which at birth weigh about 3-4 kg.
This means that cow's milk is composed to satisfy an animal that weighs 10 times more than a human newborn and about 3 or 4 times more than a 12 or 15 month old child. Breast milk, on the other hand, has a composition adapted to the child (the body makes milk for the baby that the same body has developed) and it changes over time to increase the concentration of fat as the child grows ( among other things), so that when a child is 15 months old he is drinking breast milk intended for a 15 month old child.
It is clear that breast milk is better than cow's milk (and it is also cheaper). I don't understand why someone would have to order anyone to stop giving the best milk for a human child (breast milk) and exchange it for another one less suited to their needs.
"You have no milk, bottle feed"
"You have no milk", like this, without more. Quick diagnosis Your son doesn't get fat because you're a woman with a tare, because you are unable to create milk or because it has not uploaded you. If you put your baby to your chest you would probably make milk, more and more, however, why try? Give a bottle and you will save yourself having to go looking for the problem, if there is one, that the same thing I squeeze in your chest and I see that there is milk ...
I don't know what you think, but for a mother it can be very hard, very hard, to receive the news that she is not able to breastfeed her baby. If there is an opportunity, only one, to get to breastfeed, surely many of the women to whom someone said "you have no milk" would grab it, however, it is easier for the nurse to recommend a bottle because, total, children gain the same weight, right?
"Once you give the colostrum you don't have to give more"
This nurse has received very valid information about colostrum, since apparently it attaches great importance (there are professionals who call it "liquid gold"), however, then it stays so wide and it is covered with glory saying that after colostrum there is no need to continue.
Again, I find it hard to understand that a registered nurse makes such comments. I do not understand where this information may have come from, perhaps it corresponds more to an "I did it that way and it was phenomenal", namely. The problem is for those mothers who pay attention to it, because they will be underestimating breast milk and stop breastfeeding some children who deserve to receive the best food for them.
"The tit is on demand, every 3 hours and 10 minutes in each breast"
I will not go too far at this point because we talked about it days ago. The three hours and ten minutes per breast is an old advice that shows that the person who gives it does not know what the breast milk is made of or how it changes during a shot and between shots.
Definitely, This is the best advice to get a child to gain little weight, cry a lot, go hungry and have to end up drinking artificial milk.
"If it does not last 3 hours give supplement"
If three hours do not pass between one intake and another of breast milk there are nurses who recommend giving artificial milk, because someone must have explained to them that babies have to endure three hours yes or yes between one intake and another.
Maybe this nurse doesn't know that artificial milk is digested worse than breast milk and that's why babies who drink it are up to 3 hours without asking for food again. You may not know that breast milk is digested in half the time. You may not know that the breast is given on demand because babies breastfeed inconstantly, sometimes because they are thirsty, sometimes because they need comfort, sometimes because they are very hungry and sometimes because they are poor. Maybe this nurse does not know that when you start to bottle feed you are buying ballots so that breastfeeding ends up truncating. Maybe this nurse doesn't know ...
To be continue…
I will continue in a few days, because nurses offered more arguments than pediatricians against prolonged breastfeeding (In fact, mothers received more criticism from nurses than from pediatricians) and there are still a few.
Photos | Flickr - shoothead, JelleS, christyscherrer
In Babies and more | What criticisms can pediatricians make towards prolonged breastfeeding? (I) and (II), Who supports and who criticizes prolonged breastfeeding ?, Can we rely on pediatricians when talking about breastfeeding ?, My experience with pediatricians little friends of school and breastfeeding (I), My experience with pediatricians little friends of school and breastfeeding (II)
