Search Results for: blog beware of the breastfeeding support bag

Three Factors in Breastfeeding Success

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How prepared a woman is to breastfeed will have a huge impact on whether she sticks with it. But three factors can negatively affect her chances of successfully breastfeeding: inadequate support, a lack of know-how, and flimsy reasons for trying. If the family isn’t behind her, she’ll be tempted to switch to the bottle to avoid awkward confrontations. While a woman might be able to stand up in the face of criticism from her extended family, if she does not have the full support of her husband, that can become a problem. Some guys are grossed out by breastfeeding, particularly … Continue reading →

Free Formula Bags Undermine Breastfeeding

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Quite awhile ago, Pattie Hughes, our pregnancy guru wrote an article about the “breastfeeding support bag” that hospitals give out and how it undermines breastfeeding. A few of the commenters responded to her blog saying that it’s not a big deal. After all, you and I are aware that this is a marketing ploy and no one would say that a mother shouldn’t have a choice as to whether or not to breastfeed her child. Right? Well a new study released in the American Journal of Public Health says that passing out diaper bags with free formula in them does … Continue reading →

Breastfeeding Preemies in a NICU is Different

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Breast milk is absolutely the best food you can give your newborn. Not only does it provide numerous immunological benefits, but the breast milk of a mother who has given birth too early contains substantially more calorie packing fat than does the breast milk of a mother who has given birth at a full 40 weeks gestation. One difficulty in breastfeeding a preemie for some mothers is that good practices in giving breast milk to a preemie while he/she is in the NICU may well go against everything that the new mother has read or heard about breastfeeding. Here are … Continue reading →

Breastfeeding Questions: Hind Milk and Fore Milk

Someone in the forums asked me to explain the idea of hind milk and fore milk. Most women don’t even need to worry about it. Your milk comes when it comes and is perfectly designed to meet the needs of your baby. Your baby instinctively knows how long to suck and when. When he’s thirsty, you’ll notice that he sucks lightly and doesn’t nurse as long. However, when your baby is really hungry, you’ll notice that his suck is much harder and he’ll tend to nurse much longer in this manner on one side or the other. This is because … Continue reading →

Why Enfamil Supports Breastfeeding

Enfamil is looking to make over its image and associate itself with breastfeeding by providing moms with an even more ‘pro-breastfeeding’ diaper bag. Really, most of the formula companies do this as well, but Enfamil has taken it a step further according to local hospitals in that it provides the ‘most complete source of breastfeeding and supplementing information.’ Hmmmm. Why exactly does Enfamil support breastfeeding mothers? A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing I decided to take a look at the newly improved Enfamil breastfeeding support bag. Make no mistake, Enfamil is a formula company. That is how they make money. Women … Continue reading →

Ask a Baby Blogger: Vitamin D Supplements & Breastfeeding

Question: I have heard that you are supposed to give your baby Vitamin D supplements if they are breastfeeding. I am not sure how I feel about this, but I am also concerned about rickets. I also follow a vegan diet. What is your opinion on giving vitamin supplements to exclusively breastfed babies? I have to say that I rarely go against the advice of my pediatrician. I think she’s fantastic and I trust her. However, I am still the parent, and I still have the right to decide what is best for my child. Supplementing our babies with vitamins … Continue reading →

Understanding the Language of Breastfeeding

I’ve said it more than once in this blog; the time to learn about breastfeeding is when you are still pregnant. Trying to read through the breastfeeding books when you are exhausted and dealing with a newborn will leave you in tears. Spend some time during your pregnancy taking breastfeeding class, reading books and visiting a La Leche League meeting. When you spend time preparing in advance, you will feel more confident. If an issue does arise, you will probably remember reading about it and will be more likely to feel confident handling the situation. This blog contains some of … Continue reading →

Looking for Freebies and Deals

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Pregnancy presents a unique opportunity to collect quite a few freebies. There are tons of companies out there that want your future business, and they are ready to hand over the goods to get it. Often the mail that results from signing up for these offers is the kind you want: samples, coupons and special offers. Your doctor’s office and hospital will likely give you items like free diaper bags, changing pads, planners and totes that are provided by formula companies. Even if you don’t plan on using formula, these “gifts” still come in handy. If you do plan on … Continue reading →

Hospital Staff Bullies vs. Parental Rights Part 2

I left off last time sharing our story of the birth of our 3rd daughter. You may remember that I’ve written about her before. . .but I’ll get to that. If you haven’t read the first blog, I suggest you do so as it will help you understand this one a little better. The Strenuous Job of the Nursing Staff Nursing is a tough job. I’m sure it’s harder in an inner city hospital. However, bringing a baby back to a mother or notifying her that her baby is hungry is not optional depending on how busy it is. Giving … Continue reading →

Un-confusing the Nipple Confused Baby

Just in case I didn’t make the point perfectly clear in my last blog, the easiest thing to do is to avoid nipple confusion entirely by not giving the baby anything besides your breast until breastfeeding is well established–this includes pacifiers and/or bottles of expressed milk! However, if your baby is hospitalized that just might not be possible. For us, we already had other children at home and I simply couldn’t be at the hospital for every feeding. There was no other alternative but to feed Meghan bottles while I was not there. While most babies transition easily between breast … Continue reading →