I have been absent the last few weeks, and I apologize to the maybe 3 or 4 people who are following this little blog, on the edges of their seats waiting to hear from me. I have recently gotten home from visiting family in Georgia, mainly my brother's little branch as they welcomed my sweet nephew Benjamin into the world! I was quite consumed with soaking up as much time with my family and friends as possible, so blogging took a backseat. But how better to jump back in than to tell you about my nephew's dramatic first few days?
My sister in law has a history of high-risk pregnancies. She spent the last month of this (and the previous) pregnancy on hospital bed rest due to high blood pressure, and had to deliver via c-section at 36 weeks. For being nearly a month early, little Ben was a chunker, weighing in at close to 6 1/2 pounds! Unfortunately, however, he had some respiratory issues, so he had to be admitted to the NICU. My brother and his wife were heartbroken at this news, and it made matters even more stressful when my sister in law's doctor tried to continue to enforce her bed rest and prevent her from visiting her newborn, even to attempt to breastfeed. Luckily for Benjamin, his mommy knows when to put her foot down, and she risked her own health to ensure his.
Let me pause for a minute here and comment on this situation. There was NO excuse for this mother to be kept from her brand new baby. She hadn't held him since his birth hours before, hadn't even seen him save while she was heavily medicated. If her doctor had more concern for her blood pressure (to say nothing of her mental and emotional well-being) rather than exerting some authority, the doctor would have realized that keeping her from her baby would only further distress her and cause her condition to worsen. Not to mention that this baby had been removed from his cozy womb before he was ready and was being denied the absolute best possible source of comfort and stability: his mother! When she finally was able to be wheeled down to see him, she held him skin-to-skin and his vitals immediately improved. His breathing was regulated while she was holding him and their heart rates synced. A baby needs its mother, and a mother needs her baby.
During Benjamin's stay in the NICU, he was placed on a feeding tube with formula, despite my sister in law's desire to breastfeed him. She was allowed to try to nurse for 30 minutes at a time, and if he wouldn't stay latched onto each breast for ten minutes or wouldn't finish a bottle of pumped milk in that time frame, then they would feed him through the tube. I donated hundreds of ounces of my own frozen breast milk in anticipation of a situation such as this, but the hospital refused to give it to him due to the fact that it had not been screened. When asked about using approved donor milk, my sister in law was refused because that was reserved for babies born at 35 weeks or less and Benjamin missed the mark.
Another pause for commentary here. I totally understand the shortage of milk donors and the subsequent need to prioritize which babies have the greatest need for the nutrition that breast milk has to offer. I also understand the liability implications of administering anything to a baby that has not been screened. However...a new mother nursing her own baby has not been screened (nor should she be)! And if that mother accepts another mother's milk in the absence of her own, that should be HER CHOICE AS PARENT to have fed to her infant. Consuming donated breast milk instead of formula could speed up recovery times and shorten NICU stays altogether. Resume....
Benjamin's respiratory issues cleared up miraculously fast, so my brother and his wife expected that he would be released to stay in their room with them (thereby increasing the mother-baby bonding time and making my sister in law's stay much more restful), but because he had been placed on the feeding tube, he had to pass that consumption test 8 times in a row before he could be released. 20 consecutive minutes of nursing or finish 30 mL of pumped milk and/or formula within half an hour. Once that 30 minute mark came, they started his feeding tube and the cycle had to start over.
As a breast feeding mom, I called bullshit on this immediately. Babies don't always eat on a convenient schedule, and newborns CERTAINLY do not drink 30 mL per feeding, especially with such an absurdly short time limit! Their little tummies are only about the size of a cherry and can't hold nearly that amount of food. Furthermore, formula takes longer to digest than breast milk, so if he was still full when the next feeding came around, he would be even less likely to successfully complete that one. It was a vicious cycle that seemed to set new moms up for failure (assuming they were hoping to breast feed). And it was completely unnecessary! Had he not had the respiratory problems, which were COMPLETELY unrelated to his eating habits, he would never have been admitted to the NICU and the feeding tube would never have been an issue. But since he did have to be admitted, he should have been discharged immediately when the initial problem had been resolved. This would have allowed him the opportunity to communicate his needs to his mother, and her to respond to them naturally. Babies often cluster feed, meaning they nurse for a few minutes on and off for sometimes hours at a time, and this ensures they get exactly the amount of nutrition they need exactly when they need it. The human body, both infant and maternal, is capable of much more than we give it credit for. An otherwise healthy baby will not starve because it doesn't eat on a schedule.
I shared my concerns with my sister in law, and she agreed with them. We tried talking to a nurse about them, to no avail. Policies are policies, and were she to choose to sign her son out of the NICU against medical advice, she would have had social workers visiting her home and invading her space for months. After Benjamin spit up half of a feed (because HELLO, he can't hold that much!), she insisted that the required amount be lowered to 25 mL (still absurdly high, in my completely unqualified and non-expert opinion, but better than nothing). Shortly thereafter, he was able to latch onto her breast for the required amount of time and was discharged from the NICU before his mother was even discharged herself!
Now they are comfortably at home and able to function as mother and baby without intrusions or interruptions of well-meaning medical staff!
I want to be clear. I am not anti-doctor. I realize that doctors have a huge burden of responsibility to bear and entered the profession because they wanted to help keep people healthy. Unfortunately sometimes they get so caught up in protocols (and occasionally on power trips) that they lose sight of what is best for individual patients. They might just forget that their patients are real people with unique needs that don't always have textbook answers for them, and that sometimes letting the human body do its job uninterrupted is the best thing they can do.
I am also not anti-formula. If breast feeding doesn't work out for you for whatever reason: low supply, anxiety, poor latch, incompatible medication, rare digestive issues, or even if you just simply don't want to do it, that is 100% your perogative. All that matters is that you are feeding your baby. But there are many mothers who WANT to breast feed and are not given the encouragement or the environment they need to succeed at this venture. I think that hospital feeding policies are one of many areas that need to adapt to support breast feeding whenever possible.
Observing this whole ordeal from the outside has been quite the learning experience for me, and it has further empowered me to seek out medical care providers whose priorities are in line with my own and who respect my autonomy. When the time comes for baby #2, I will be very picky indeed when deciding where to deliver, and I will familiarize myself with hospital policies ahead of time and question them if necessary. Writing up a birth plan is extremely helpful; even if it can't be adhered to 100%, it opens up a dialogue with your doctor about the things that are important to you. I hope all of my future mommy friends will do the same!
My sister in law has a history of high-risk pregnancies. She spent the last month of this (and the previous) pregnancy on hospital bed rest due to high blood pressure, and had to deliver via c-section at 36 weeks. For being nearly a month early, little Ben was a chunker, weighing in at close to 6 1/2 pounds! Unfortunately, however, he had some respiratory issues, so he had to be admitted to the NICU. My brother and his wife were heartbroken at this news, and it made matters even more stressful when my sister in law's doctor tried to continue to enforce her bed rest and prevent her from visiting her newborn, even to attempt to breastfeed. Luckily for Benjamin, his mommy knows when to put her foot down, and she risked her own health to ensure his.
Let me pause for a minute here and comment on this situation. There was NO excuse for this mother to be kept from her brand new baby. She hadn't held him since his birth hours before, hadn't even seen him save while she was heavily medicated. If her doctor had more concern for her blood pressure (to say nothing of her mental and emotional well-being) rather than exerting some authority, the doctor would have realized that keeping her from her baby would only further distress her and cause her condition to worsen. Not to mention that this baby had been removed from his cozy womb before he was ready and was being denied the absolute best possible source of comfort and stability: his mother! When she finally was able to be wheeled down to see him, she held him skin-to-skin and his vitals immediately improved. His breathing was regulated while she was holding him and their heart rates synced. A baby needs its mother, and a mother needs her baby.
During Benjamin's stay in the NICU, he was placed on a feeding tube with formula, despite my sister in law's desire to breastfeed him. She was allowed to try to nurse for 30 minutes at a time, and if he wouldn't stay latched onto each breast for ten minutes or wouldn't finish a bottle of pumped milk in that time frame, then they would feed him through the tube. I donated hundreds of ounces of my own frozen breast milk in anticipation of a situation such as this, but the hospital refused to give it to him due to the fact that it had not been screened. When asked about using approved donor milk, my sister in law was refused because that was reserved for babies born at 35 weeks or less and Benjamin missed the mark.
Another pause for commentary here. I totally understand the shortage of milk donors and the subsequent need to prioritize which babies have the greatest need for the nutrition that breast milk has to offer. I also understand the liability implications of administering anything to a baby that has not been screened. However...a new mother nursing her own baby has not been screened (nor should she be)! And if that mother accepts another mother's milk in the absence of her own, that should be HER CHOICE AS PARENT to have fed to her infant. Consuming donated breast milk instead of formula could speed up recovery times and shorten NICU stays altogether. Resume....
Benjamin's respiratory issues cleared up miraculously fast, so my brother and his wife expected that he would be released to stay in their room with them (thereby increasing the mother-baby bonding time and making my sister in law's stay much more restful), but because he had been placed on the feeding tube, he had to pass that consumption test 8 times in a row before he could be released. 20 consecutive minutes of nursing or finish 30 mL of pumped milk and/or formula within half an hour. Once that 30 minute mark came, they started his feeding tube and the cycle had to start over.
As a breast feeding mom, I called bullshit on this immediately. Babies don't always eat on a convenient schedule, and newborns CERTAINLY do not drink 30 mL per feeding, especially with such an absurdly short time limit! Their little tummies are only about the size of a cherry and can't hold nearly that amount of food. Furthermore, formula takes longer to digest than breast milk, so if he was still full when the next feeding came around, he would be even less likely to successfully complete that one. It was a vicious cycle that seemed to set new moms up for failure (assuming they were hoping to breast feed). And it was completely unnecessary! Had he not had the respiratory problems, which were COMPLETELY unrelated to his eating habits, he would never have been admitted to the NICU and the feeding tube would never have been an issue. But since he did have to be admitted, he should have been discharged immediately when the initial problem had been resolved. This would have allowed him the opportunity to communicate his needs to his mother, and her to respond to them naturally. Babies often cluster feed, meaning they nurse for a few minutes on and off for sometimes hours at a time, and this ensures they get exactly the amount of nutrition they need exactly when they need it. The human body, both infant and maternal, is capable of much more than we give it credit for. An otherwise healthy baby will not starve because it doesn't eat on a schedule.
I shared my concerns with my sister in law, and she agreed with them. We tried talking to a nurse about them, to no avail. Policies are policies, and were she to choose to sign her son out of the NICU against medical advice, she would have had social workers visiting her home and invading her space for months. After Benjamin spit up half of a feed (because HELLO, he can't hold that much!), she insisted that the required amount be lowered to 25 mL (still absurdly high, in my completely unqualified and non-expert opinion, but better than nothing). Shortly thereafter, he was able to latch onto her breast for the required amount of time and was discharged from the NICU before his mother was even discharged herself!
Now they are comfortably at home and able to function as mother and baby without intrusions or interruptions of well-meaning medical staff!
I want to be clear. I am not anti-doctor. I realize that doctors have a huge burden of responsibility to bear and entered the profession because they wanted to help keep people healthy. Unfortunately sometimes they get so caught up in protocols (and occasionally on power trips) that they lose sight of what is best for individual patients. They might just forget that their patients are real people with unique needs that don't always have textbook answers for them, and that sometimes letting the human body do its job uninterrupted is the best thing they can do.
I am also not anti-formula. If breast feeding doesn't work out for you for whatever reason: low supply, anxiety, poor latch, incompatible medication, rare digestive issues, or even if you just simply don't want to do it, that is 100% your perogative. All that matters is that you are feeding your baby. But there are many mothers who WANT to breast feed and are not given the encouragement or the environment they need to succeed at this venture. I think that hospital feeding policies are one of many areas that need to adapt to support breast feeding whenever possible.
Observing this whole ordeal from the outside has been quite the learning experience for me, and it has further empowered me to seek out medical care providers whose priorities are in line with my own and who respect my autonomy. When the time comes for baby #2, I will be very picky indeed when deciding where to deliver, and I will familiarize myself with hospital policies ahead of time and question them if necessary. Writing up a birth plan is extremely helpful; even if it can't be adhered to 100%, it opens up a dialogue with your doctor about the things that are important to you. I hope all of my future mommy friends will do the same!
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