When I read the article about New York City’s new campaign to promote breastfeeding I got angry.
The Latch on NYC program is to support new mothers and promote breastfeeding.
from the Latch on NYC press release
I bet right now you’re confused, because I nursed my son to almost 10 months and am a strong supporter of breastfeeding.
But locking away the formula? Having staff restricted access and waiting for it to be on the chart before allowing it? And news sources are mentioning before each bottle a mother will be given a lecture every time they give a bottle why breastfeeding is better.
Now, New York City policies already protect mothers who want to nurse their babies from having supplementary feed unless it is medically necessary or at the wish of the mother.
I get it, some parts of the program are great.
The Latch on NYC supports not giving away free formula, and the program will help alleviate the large amount of NY births that have breastfeeding babies being supplemented with formula without medical reason.
The program gives support to new breastfeeding mothers, and it is sorely needed for that reason.
But, New York policies also state it is the mother’s right to choose which way they feed their child.
And since they mention that a large portion of nursing NYC women introduce the first bottle by the time their baby is a week old, they feel that the hospital is the best place to drill it in.
Cue the guilt, cue the fear, cue the stress.
I remember the sadness when my son needed to be supplemented in the hospital- I was a cesarean birth, like a good third of the births in the United States, and my milk supply started late. Let’s also talk about how it took 9 hours of my son not nursing before a consultant could come help me fix his latch. he became dehydrated so we supplemented the entire time I was in the hospital, and felt guilt and frustration every time.
After being discharged, my milk came in and while I was able to feed him without supplementing, I spent the next weeks and months worried about my son and how much he was getting.
Which, I know, every breastfeeding mom I became friends with also did.
The only thing that I found comforting and supportive was finding a free breastfeeding support group, Mother’s Breastfeeding Circle at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. Two lactation consultant nurses, each with multiple breastfed children offering encouragement and support, congratulating every ounce our babies drank, because any was better than none.
I felt supported and educated, and while I had a couple blips before my supply came tumbling down I had a well-fed, happy baby.
Unfortunately, all this had come after I tried what my hospital offered- paying to sit with a bunch or real new moms with babies and get a little help from my son, who was definitely older than the other babies and was mostly ignored, even though I really needed a lot of help.
Two years after our sons were born, one of my friends told me about all of the pushing to get her to be able to nurse her son exclusively. She attended a nursing support group for months trying. The marathon pumping sessions, the foods, the tricks, everything and nothing made her supply better.
Instead of having support she had more pressure and guilt laid on her as the ‘breast is best’ and was scared to talk about her struggles.
I’m proud of her for caring for him- proud of her for working so hard to get a couple ounces daily while mostly bottle-feeding. I think I was one of the first people to tell her that, two years after the fact.
90 percent of NYC moms start breastfeeding exclusively but by 2 months only 31 percent are still exclusively nursing.
Imagine how many mothers will have even more guilt as they struggle at home, after having breastfeeding exclusively statistics drilled into their bed, hiding and crying and feeling guilty and eventually heading down that same road that NY is trying to avoid.
Those first weeks is where they need support, not just the first couple of days.
The answer, NYC, instead of creating more guilt and stress there should be more free programs where moms could meet for free (not for $20 weekly) and get real support from medical staff. The two nurses that helped at our group also gave answers about other facets of new motherhood and were so helpful the first year, although that just happened as part of our discussions.
Imagine, those mothers who get help once, maybe twice in the hospital, have access to the same support when they need it, how those breast-fed baby numbers would rise.
I hope you latch on to that idea, NYC.
I’ve always said it’s not that women don’t want to nurse, it’s that this society doesn’t support it, whether it’s breastfeeding support or companies with on-site childcare to allow women to nurse during work.
To mandate how a mother feeds her child is ridiculous.
That is completely it. With working, stress, everything it is unfair to assume thy every mother had the ability to breast feed successfully
I think the law is ABSURD. Do I think breastfeeding is SUPER important, yes! But if a mother is already having issues with let down, etc, lectures and other tactics are exactly the opposite of what she needs. A woman already going through the massive hormone fluxes after childbirth needs nothing but positive reinforcement. Some women do better with let down than others. I had to supplement with my first, but went on to supply the vast majority of his milk. For my second – the let down was faster (I had only not been breastfeeding for 6 months, my kids were close together), so he had no supplementation needed.
I’m thankful I had the support for either way that worked for us!
Making it the law? Geesh, aren’t there other things they should be focusing on? My first was a 5 week preemie. I didn’t realize with my blood pressure, and magnesium, I wasn’t able to see him for 24 hours after I had him. Therefore, they had already started supplementing him. Luckily a lactation consultant was in my room the day after and got me a pump and I started. When we were both finally released and at home, we moved to exclusive breastfeeding. It was a tough road, but we got there. With my second, again, she was losing weight in the hospital after a day because my milk didn’t come in right away (scheduled c-section). Because of her losing weight, I supplemented, but wanted to exclusive breastfeed also. For some, it isn’t a choice…their milk just won’t come it. I agree, to make it law that they do – absolutely absurd!
This kind of thing makes me completely insane. Do we have to make New Motherhood so fraught? WTF?
“Cue the guilt, cue the fear, cue the stress” – SO true! I couldn’t believe this bull malarkey when I heard about it and still can’t.
If I lived in New York I would drive to New Jersey to have my baby. Just sayin.
That’s something else I can see happening-,people avoiding hospitals.
It’s a society problem, and companies should provide the resources to moms to be able to breastfeed.
It’s our decision
Breastfeeding was such a challenge for me.
Wow….is BF best? In most instances…but not always…as a NICU nurse there were times when we HAD to give babies formula…this is crazy!
Wow that is so absurd for them to make a law that takes away choice. Although that’s where our society is headed when it thinks it knows better than the women that are involved. Thank you for this write up. I definitely need to learn about this more. While I want to breastfeed, if it’s not in the cards, I definitely don’t want any guilt for it.
Girl, I will be there to tell you you’re doing a great job, no matter what happens.!
We read your blog posting with interest and wanted to respond and address several inaccuracies. the initiative does not require hospitals to “hide” or “lock up” formula, nor does it restrict access to it for those who want it. Parents who want formula will not have to convince a nurse to sign it out by giving a medical reason. Parents can and always will be able to simply ask for formula and receive it – no medical necessity required, no written consent. For 3 years, New York State Law has required that mothers be provided accurate information on the benefits of breastfeeding. The City initiative does not require that mothers asking for formula receive a lecture.
The piece erroneously dismisses the positive health impacts of breast feeding for which there is there is overwhelming evidence — supported by national and international health organizations. For mothers, breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancers. For babies, breastfeeding reduces the risk of ear, respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, as well as asthma.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has just published new guidance to pediatricians in Feb 2012, reaffirming its support for breastfeeding: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/129/3/e827.full.pdf+html
Ultimately, our goal is to support a mother in whatever decision she makes when it comes to nursing her baby and this initiative specifically is designed to support a mother who decides that she wants to breast-feed by asking participating hospital staff to respect her and refrain from automatically supplementing her baby with formula (unless it becomes medically necessary or the mother changes her mind).
Bottom line: It does not restrict the mother’s nursing options in any way – nor does it restrict access to formula for those who want it.
Thank you for your comment! And thank you for adresing the lecture comment- as I said, I saw it on news recports and made sure to state such.
I couldn’t find that mentioned on your website.