Yesterday, my family was part of a team of 28 moms, dads, babies and kids. Our parent-baby group all wanted to run or walk The Race for the Cure here in Frankfurt. Those who couldn’t be there donated money. It was important to all of us.
I don’t need to tell you how breast cancer has changed our family, you probably have a story of your own.

All of us have been touched by worry, by loss, by the wonderful hope that lives in our hearts and is nourished by discovery and by survival.

There is nothing we can do to prevent every case of breast cancer. We can nurse for a year, or longer. We can eat our vegetables and limit fat consumption. We can exercise and learn to deal with stress. Those of us with family histories can have our genes tested and take radical steps if our hearts tell us to do it.

In life, you do what you can and hope for the best. That’s what I want my children to know, that’s why we make guestures and take steps. Just so hope is always running ahead of despair.

Post from: Babylune

The Times, via the Unison.ie news portal (registration required) reported that women who have epidurals during labour are more likely to have problems breastfeeding. Researchers from Sydney University studied 1280 women who had recently given birth. 416 of them had epidurals.

• The researchers found that 93% of the women breast-fed their baby in the first week but that those who had epidurals experienced more difficulty in the few days immediately after birth. After six months, 72% of women who had not received painkillers were breast-feeding, compared with 53% of those who had been given epidurals.The most likely cause of the problem was fentanyl, an opioid drug used as a component of epidurals.

  Such drugs cross easily into the placenta and the unborn baby, the study suggests.

  If confirmed, such research could force a rethink over the use of such drugs, which appear to impair infants’ development and co-ordination in the crucial days after birth.

Two points aren’t mentioned in the article that I think need to be emphasized.

First of all, women who don’t have epidurals (like me) tend to be a little more granola than women who want them. Someone comfortable experiencing the natural pain of childbirth is generally pretty comfortable with the natural nursing process (mostly because it hurts a lot less).

Secondly, just because you have a breastfeeding problem a few days in, does not mean that you will continue to have that problem even a few hours later. Infants have very quick metabolisms, that’s why they pee and poop. Drugs do clear their systems and may just need a little help to get started on the breast. Babies who are born very quickly vaginally and babies born by c-section also need a little extra time to work on nursing and they don’t suffer long term consequences.

Again, the choice is not to have an epidural and give up breastfeeding or to go completely natural to breastfeed. Problems happen and they can seem to go on for a lot longer than they really do. As with anything related to new parenthood, the answer is generally to learn a little patience and keep trying. If you need some help with the additional stuff, you might just check out Breastfeeding 1-2-3.

Post from: Babylune

Some babies don’t latch onto the nipple properly. Some babies latch on all too well and suck like they’ve never eaten before. Both cases can leave your nipples feeling raw and painful.

If this is you, there are three things you need to do:

1. Figure out what is causing the baby to chew your skin off and work to change it

2. Treat the pain

3. Rule out other causes such as thrush (or yeast) infections
In fact, treating the pain first might give you more patience to deal with the first item on the list.

As a rule, the first line of defense are the things everyone knows about: Let your nipples air dry after nursing and rub them with lanolin, a natural cream made with the oil from sheep’s wool. Make sure you’re wearing only your softest, most comfortable bra and don’t be surprised if your special cotton-elastic blend nursing bra doesn’t make the cut. Silk or satin against sore nipples often feels nicer that elastic tension, no matter how slight that tension may be. If you use breast pads to soak up potential milk leaks, the disposable ones can be just too absorbent and drain away even the natural skin moisture your nipples need to heal. Even though they, in effect, don’t work as well as disposables, the natural cloth breast pads are softer and gentler on sore nipples. Try to go braless and padless as often as you can.
A number of herbalists make special nipple creams for nursing mothers. These are usually lanolin or glycerin-based and contain a lavender, rose and/or thyme oils or essences. The main benefit of these creams is aromatherapeutic. Sniff, relax and your body will be better able to heal, as the theory goes. I’ve also heard of women using the topical ointments made for teething babies on their nipples. They dab on a small amount after nursing and wash their nipples before the next round. Surfing around, I haven’t found any information actually condoning or recommending the practice. I’ve never tried it myself and I probably won’t. The thought itself makes me cringe with fear of absolute numbness.
Making sure the baby is positioned at the breast and latching on properly is also key. The baby needs more than just the tip of the nipple to suck comfortably. The baby should have at least a centimeter around the tip in his or her mouth. Also, make sure the baby’s bottom lip is sticking out like a little pout. The wonderful Kellymom site and La Leche League site have a ton of other pointers on ensuring the position and latch are comfortable.

From personal experience, I can also say that nothing prevents sore nipples from healing more than feeding on demand. The skin just doesn’t get enough time to heal and, rather than getting hungry, the baby just gets used to topping-up constantly.

Feeding on demand is necessary for the first week of life to ensure the milk actually comes in, but once the supply is established, it will just hurt your nipples and the baby’s belly. My mid-wife told me that one feeding every two hours for babies under three weeks old and every three hours after that is fine for most babies 8 pounds or over. If they get hungry between, try to distract them a little, but in the end, what’s 15 minutes less between good friends?

Finally, thrush, or a yeast infection of the baby’s mouth can be transferred to your nipple and cause serious pain. You might notice white patches in the baby’s mouth or a yeasty smell on his or her breath. Luckily, this is a simple fungal infection that can be easily treated. Just be sure both the baby and you get treated so that you don’t pass the infection back and forth.

Post from: Babylune

Not only is it free, but it’s always the right temperature, doesn’t require any preparation and it comes in an easy to clean package…me. It also helped me lose more than 3/4th of my pregnancy weight. That said, I hate breast pumps. I’ve tried three different kinds in my career as a mother and, of course, there is the possibility I am not using them correctly, that am not relaxed enough or just don’t have the right machine for me. I love my nipples and there are many further experiments I don’t want to conduct on them. When I have to be away from the baby, she gets formula. 

Breast is best, but the guilt a lot of women are subjected to over bottle feeding is misplaced. Problems with breast feeding are more complex and unique from woman to woman. My breast pump aversion is another mother’s inverted nipple.

Still, I was surprised to read Luisa Ch. Savage’s essay in Maclean’s Magazine about the cost of breast feeding. The political journalist spent $1000 US on various nursing support tools and advice.

Post from: Babylune