Welcome to the November Carnival of Breastfeeding! This month mothers share their experiences of breastfeeding in the hospital. I rather prefer a home birth myself, so this time I’m leaving the job up to two mothers who wrote to me to share their experiences. At the end of these comments, check out the links to the other carnival participants!
Sutter Davis Hospital in Davis, California
Stephanie Cassidy emailed me the following:
I just wanted to say that my experience at Sutter Davis Hospital in Davis, CA was great! They are pro breast feeding and fully support it. The nurses are encouraging and lactation …read more

The November Carnival of Breastfeeding will focus on “Breastfeeding Experiences in the Hospital.” Did you have a particularly good or bad experience you’d like to share? Do you have tips for choosing a breastfeeding-friendly hospital? Please email me your post by November 16, 2009, for consideration for the blog carnival on November 23, 2009.
As a reminder, here are the guidelines that will increase the chances a post will be selected for inclusion in the carnival:
– A well-written, grammatically correct post
– Thoughtful commentary directly on point for the carnival subject
– Overall quality of the rest of your blog and whether the …read more

Here’s another guest post from pediatrician and author Dr. Marianne Neifert. I enjoyed her new book so much that not only did I review Great Expectations: The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding on my blog, I also took the time to post my first-ever review on Amazon.com.
Today she talks about how breastfeeding success begins in the hospital:
Five Hospital Practices that Extend Your Duration of Breastfeeding
Your hospital experience — brief as it may be — can have a powerful impact on your long-term breastfeeding success. Making hospital changes in maternity care practices has been shown to significantly increase breastfeeding initiation and duration …read more

It surprised me to see a DVD copy of the documentary “The Business of Being Born” available at one of my local county libraries. I put it on hold for 25 cents (have I mentioned how I think the public library is one of the best inventions ever?!), picked it up a few days later, and finally got to watch it with my husband the other night. The movie completely spoke to my disappointing experiences with hospital births and my very satisfying home birth. I wish everyone — pregnant or not, male or female — would watch the movie! The …read more

One study published in the Journal of Nurse Midwifery found:
The average uncomplicated vaginal birth costs 68% less in a home than in a hospital, and births initiated in the home offer a lower combined rate of intrapartum and neonatal mortality and a lower incidence of cesarean delivery.
“The Cost-Effectiveness of Home Birth.” J Nurse Midwifery. 1999 Jan-Feb;44(1):30-5. Gee, what a novel concept — care that costs less but has a better outcome!
I did an informal survey of sources online to determine that the average hospital birth costs around $8,000 in the United States, depending on exactly where the mother lives. That …read more

Today’s breastfeeding story isn’t really a breastfeeding story, it’s a formula-feeding story. It provides a bit of balance both for that reason and also because it’s written by a father (who asked to remain anonymous). This story offers an important reminder that as the parent, YOU are the expert on your child. If your child is listless, not acting like himself, or showing any sign of medical distress, seek medical attention immediately and persist in getting help until the problem is resolved.