Breastfeeding 1-2-3 » infant health

A Mystery Illness Identified

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:35:29 +0000

Sometimes being a mother means being a detective. My 10-month-old had a restless night last Saturday. On Sunday she was fussy and not much interested in eating solid food, which was unusual for her. I chalked it up to teething because I could see two new teeth poking their way through the top gums.

Photo by Joana Croft

Teething was ruled out later that night when she spiked a fever of 103 degrees Fahrenheit. The next morning I started to get really worried — what would cause a fever and disinterest in food, but no runny nose, vomiting, or diarrhea? Had she managed to swallow something she shouldn’t? I started researching by reading the fever information at AskDrSears.com. Roseola sounded like a possibility but it didn’t explain why my little one didn’t want solids. Then I came to the information on Mouth Sores, Coxsackie Virus (Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease). I gently pulled down my baby’s bottom lip to get a look inside — as best as she would let me — and saw what I suspected were mouth sores. Mystery solved! After three nights of fever, and four very fussy days (what do you do with a baby who doesn’t want to be put down but doesn’t want to be held either?! Answer: Distract her! Entertain her! Put on a three-ring circus!), she’s back to her happy self. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I am so happy to be nursing. Breastfeeding saved us during the four days that my 23-pound 10-month-old had zero interest in solid food. She nursed happily, no problem there, and nursing also helped settle her to sleep. My milk supply increased to handle the extra demand, and she did not lose any weight or become dehydrated. If anything I think she weighs more now (or that could just be how I feel after carrying her around these past few days!)

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Guidance on Swine Flu and Breastfeeding

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Sat, 02 May 2009 05:55:40 +0000

Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) have issued strong guidance on the importance of breastfeeding for protection against the H1N1 swine flu. The CDC states, “Infants who are not breastfeeding are particularly vulnerable to infection and hospitalization for severe respiratory illness.”

Photo courtesy of Furya

Thus, the CDC urges new mothers to initiate breastfeeding early and to feed frequently. Mothers already breastfeeding should continue to do so, even if they become ill. Formula feeding should be avoided or minimized and breastfeeding maximized. In the Health News Digest, USBC Chair Joan Younger Meek, MD, MS, RD, FAAP, FABM, IBCLC, recommends breastfeedng in emergency situations such as a swine flu outbreak:

Research clearly shows that breastfeeding provides a safe, reliable food source, full of disease-fighting cells and antibodies that help protect infants from germs and illnesses. Mothers exposed to influenza produce specific protection for their infants and transmit this through their breast milk. Infant formula does not provide these specific infection fighting properties. Unnecessary formula supplementation should be eliminated so the infant can receive as much benefit as possible from maternal protective antibodies and other immune protective factors.

Key points from the CDC swine flu guidance include:

1. If a mother is ill with swine flu, she should continue breastfeeding and feed the baby more often. If she is too ill to feed at the breast but can pump, expressed breast milk should be fed to the baby. The risk of transmission of the H1N1 virus through breast milk is unknown, but reports of transmission of the regular, seasonal flu through breast milk are rare.

2. If the baby becomes too ill to feed at the breast, he should receive the mother’s expressed breast milk or donated human milk from a non-profit milk bank.

3. Antiviral medication treatment and prophylaxis are compatible with breastfeeding.

4. All usual precautions against virus transmission should be taken, including hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Back to Sleep Campaign: A Poll

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:30:12 +0000

Breastfeeding your baby is one key way to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), also called crib death or cot death. In fact, a 2008 meta-analysis of 27 studies showed that babies who were breastfed, even partially breastfed, were one-third less likely to die of SIDS than babies who were never breastfed.

Back to Sleep

Over 13 years ago the American Academy of Pediatrics issued its first policy statement on reducing the risk of SIDS and recommended that all healthy babies be placed to sleep on their backs. Soon thereafter the “Back to Sleep Campaign” began. In the time since, the SIDS rate has fallen over 50 percent.

The following poll lets you vote anonymously so we can get an idea of whether parents are following the recommendation to put their babies “back to sleep.” A few thoughts: (1) answer for your latest baby (for example, if you placed your first child on her tummy to sleep, but placed your latest newborn on his back, answer “back”); (2) answer for when your baby was a newborn (for purposes of this poll, define that as 0-6 months) and if at any time during that first six months you switched to placing on baby’s “side” or “tummy” then answer “side” or “tummy” respectively; (3) answer for how you placed your baby (so, answer “back” if you put your baby down on his back, even if he rolled onto his tummy). Feel free to leave a comment to explain your vote.

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Use of a Fan

There are lots of other things that can reduce the risk of SIDS, but I want to highlight one relatively new discovery. A recent study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine showed that use of a fan to ventilate the room where baby sleeps can reduce the risk of SIDS by 72%! The risk reduction associated with fan use was greater for infants placed in the prone (face-down, tummy position) or side position versus the supine (back) position (which I take to mean, it’s still a good idea to place your baby on his back, but if you are going to place him on his side or tummy, it’s even more helpful to use a fan).

Comments

How do you place your baby to sleep? What do you do to reduce your baby’s risk of SIDS?

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The Best Compliment!

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:25:54 +0000

Woman admiring my baby: “She looks so healthy!”
Me: “Thank you!”
Woman: “Are you nursing her?”
Me: “Yes.”
Woman (nodding knowingly and approvingly): “She looks so healthy!”

* * * * *

Interactions like those refuel my tank. Sometimes it gets discouraging to hear stories of women harassed for breastfeeding in public, and to hear criticism of women who promote breastfeeding, and to see such low rates of breastfeeding initiation and continuation. What a pleasant surprise to be complimented and acknowledged for breastfeeding!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Two Month Well Baby Visit

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:08:10 +0000

It has been two months since Nicole was born. I have yet to capture a good picture of her wonderful smile, so this photo will have to do. She cracks me up!

Yesterday I took her to our family practitioner for her two month well baby visit. She’s doing great, nursing well, and meeting all of her developmental milestones (in spite of my inability to capture them on film!) She weighed 12 pounds 9 ounces, and measured 23 inches in length and 15.5 inches in head circumference. When the doctor told me that that put Nicole in the 25th, 10th and 10th percentiles on the CDC growth charts, I was a little surprised! My second daughter was petite like that, but does this look like a child who is on the low end of the charts?

Ignore my belly! Look! Cute buddha baby! Cute Imse Vimse organic cotton velour diaper cover! (Yup, I am still using cloth diapers. I got hooked on the Imse Vimse covers when someone generously passed this one on to me, and I just ordered two each of the organic cotton jungle print and organic cotton farm animal print! I absolutely love how soft and stretchy the fabric is, and how the edges have gussets but they don’t make marks on my baby’s legs).

For the record, I am not afraid to state my weight on the internet. My real weight! Be kind, internets. I weighed myself yesterday at the doctor’s office. I have lost 30 pounds of pregnancy weight and at 146.6 pounds with clothes on, I have about five more to go. No rush, I just like to note those things. And it does seem to show that for some women, breastfeeding does help with normal weight loss!

I wondered how my instincts could be so wrong about Nicole’s weight! She’s my beautiful buddha baby, and she’s already in 3-6 month clothes, so how could she be in the 10-25th percentiles? I did some quick math in my head. She has gained five pounds seven ounces from her original seven pounds two ounces. That’s 87 ounces in 9 weeks, or nearly 10 ounces per week. As a breastfeeding counselor I know that the average weight gain for a breastfed baby at this age is five to seven ounces per week. It’s no wonder with my oversupply that Nicole gained more than average. If she gained more than average, though, something was fishy about those percentiles. I looked up the CDC growth charts online, and discovered she’s actually in the 90th percentile for weight, 75th percentile for height, and 75th percentile for head circumference. Just for good measure (no pun intended), I checked the WHO growth charts too, because those are more accurate for breastfed babies. She is in the 80-85th percentiles for height and weight on those charts.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t care much about the numbers. I can look at my baby and see that she is thriving and wonderful, and as long as she stays on the same growth curve, it doesn’t matter whether she’s in the 10th percentile or the 95th. But I was a little concerned when I thought she’d dropped from the 50th to the 10th, especially when I had been marveling at those rolls of baby fat! It made me question my instincts, which is never a good thing as a mother. Bottom line, everything is fine! Nicole is a good-natured, happy — and healthy — baby.

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