I am going to quit… I think…

A few months ago a got a call from a mom that found my # on my distributor’s website and asked if I could go show her some wraps and slings… I went over and stayed for at least 2 hours… we talked about a lot and one of those things happened to be how to introduce solids… Her dd was just about 6 mos old and the ped (the yucky ped that I hate) told her to start but her dd wasn’t too interested… So, I told her about child led introduction to solids, bypassing cereals and baby foods and going straight to table foods… we also talked about many other things and she found out that I was a peer-to-peer counsellor…

A few weeks after that she called me and asked me a few more questions about solids again… I told her a bit more and then that was that, I never spoke to her again…

So, about two weeks ago I got a call from the centre where I volunteer… It seems that they received a complaint about advice on solids that I gave a mom and they wanted to talk to me about differences that I may have with the center and how we could work to give all of the same advice etc…

Anyways… I thought about things and realized that the type of suggestion that they were talking about I only gave to that one mom… and it was done on my personal time…

When I brought that up, I was told that it was the “wrong” thing to do… even though I was there on my own time, was not there at all as a Peer to Peer etc… I still need to give the same advice as the Canada Health etc.. and I should never contradict a doc (it seems that this is true even when the doc gives advice that goes against Canada health)…

Anyways.. this happened in a phone conversation and I was asked to go in for a more extensive meeting… however, I don’t want to… I don’t feel like confronting two people… I don’t feel I have the strength emotionally at the moment…

When I am on my own time, I feel that I have a right to say whatever I choose… I am allowed to share my opinions and points of views.. When I am called for counselling I know that I have to give advice that I do not always agree with, or at least point them into a different direction to get advice that I don’t want to give… I don’t mind wearing two hats at times… but I don’t think that my volunteer hat should be forced on me on my personal time… I don’t think that

About a day or two after I talked to the head of the volunteers the Centre coordinator called me and asked me when I would come in… I told her I would call her back… I never did… I don’t want to either…

I was going to take a break from volunteering when the new babe comes anyways… but now… I don’t want to go back after…

I love volunteering but I don’t to be dictated in my personal time. I don’t believe that I have to hold back from talking to a mom at the park or in her home when called over about baby wearing just because they might find out that I am also a volunteer…

I am not sure what I am going to do yet, but I have lost the want to volunteer there…

Now with Metal!

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting the public to a recall being conducted by Mead Johnson for their GENTLEASE powdered infant formula, lot number: BMJ19, use by 1 Jul 07. This lot was found to contain metal particles, consisting of up to 2.7 millimeter in size.”

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01323.html

This is added to the list of other recalls in the last ten years including plastic, glass, salmonella, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, incorrect preparation instructions (this could have led to “serious adverse health effects such as seizures, irregular heart beat, renal failure or in extreme cases, death.” nutramigen)

and these are just a few among many other recalls….
How can people choose to feed this stuff to their infant? I can never understand….

equal?… sure…..right… My breasts have never been recalled…

no milk?

A fellow volunteer just called me recently to complain a bit….As breastfeeding counselors we go through waves of people that have problems but will do everything to breastfeed, people that get bad info and would like to try give up easily because “formula is good enough” and then there are people that have problems just because they want to have problems, don’t really want to breastfeed so they make themselves believe that it isn’t going to work so that they won’t feel guilty when they go the chemical way….

I am getting so tired of hearing all of the excuses that people use…. especially when you give them advice and they choose not to follow through with it but just keep on repeating in their head that it isn’t working out (so of course it won’t work out)

I have seen moms that have great breastfeeding relationships go against the advice that we have given and end up not breastfeeding within days or weeks.

The biggest thing is the “not having enough milk” excuse…. This is the one that all women are scared of because they hear it from everyone they know. This is the one that makes breastfeeding not work for many people, this is the one that makes formula companies salivate…

What we explain to moms over and over again and what never gets through is that if you breastfeed on demand and avoid the evil formula you will have enough milk. The minute you supplement a feeding (even with your own milk) you are walking on thin ice….

But, So many women that come to us with problems have this story…

- Baby was born at 37 weeks (the doctor around here LOVES provoking labour at 37 weeks (and gives many reasons for why he does it) and many end up with “emergency” C-Sections…)

- Baby and mom are in the hospital for 3-4 days, during which the baby loses a bit of weight. (completely normal)

- The differences in weight loss between a FF baby and BF baby are not taken into consideration.

- The baby wants to feed often and the mom is told by one or more of the nurses/pediatrician etc… that her baby is in danger because she doesn’t have enough milk and they have to supplement with formula after each nursing session until her milk comes in…. (They are working to become “baby-friendly” so they supplement with a cup)

-Mom and Baby are sent home…

We then get called and we have to explain that she needs to put the baby to the breast on demand and nurse as often as she can and she will have the supply…. they don’t listen though and keep on supplementing… Why? Because everyone around them has told them that they didn’t have enough milk either….

What I would love to know is what do people think women did before the sludge that the formula companies make was around… do they really think that 100 years ago women often just didn’t have enough milk so would just give up feeding their babies… No!!! People did have enough milk because they knew that their milk was the only food available and they had people around them that knew that all women have milk…

What it comes down to in many cases is bad information for many people…. but unknowingly and unwillingly they keep on spreading the rumor that some women just don’t make enough milk….

However, then there is another bunch…. the ones that KNOW breast is best, the ones that know the dangers of Formula (but don’t believe it) the ones that just don’t want to breastfeed but want to alleviate the “guilt”….

These are the ones that I know are not going to keep on breastfeeding from the second I talk to them. They will find any excuse to not breastfeed, they will try and make me say that formula is just as good, they will try and make me agree that their problem just can’t be solved…. they will invent problems and won’t listen to anything we say to help them….They just want to have the peace of mind that “they did everything they could but it just didn’t work out”…. I wish that people that don’t want to breastfeed would just not call me…. I don’t want to be a pawn in their game and I don’t want to waste my breath….

Here is an example I once had…

1st call: breastfeeding going great… I debunk about 10 myths in one phone call (she was trying to find an excuse I know it) things I tell her… supply=demand, feed on need, no bottles before 5-6 weeks, pacifier not recommended for first 5-6 weeks… everything should go well…

2nd call: Her milk came in…She asks….Are my breasts going to be this big the whole time? I tell her no that they will go back to normal (though still a bit full) after a day or two and feel less and less full as time goes on….

3rd Call: breasts feel less baby nursing often, she KNOWS she doesn’t have enough milk… the baby is happy between feedings and has full diapers, I tell her that everything sounds normal…

4th call (about 5 days later): baby not taking breast well… they started a using a pacifier, didn’t think she had enough milk because the baby was nursing every 2-3 hours so she tried pumping and “saw” that she wasn’t making enough… so they went and got formula because the baby was “starving”… I tell her that the pump isn’t a good indicator of amount and that the baby is better at getting milk out… tell her that supply=demand so as long as she feeds when baby wants it then she will have enough milk…. the baby was probably not taking the breast well because they suck differently on the breast then on bottle or pacifier… I advise her to stop the bottle and paci and put baby to the breast often.

I call a few days later… She explains that she knew she wasn’t making enough milk because her baby would cry and wanted the bottle more then the breast and seems much happier now… “but I know I at least “tried” and guess what!! Now I can go out without baby and leave the month old baby with MIL for the night while I get my “much needed rest”…..

I knew at the end of the first call that she would breastfeed. I knew that she was going to use the time that I would spend trying to help her as a way to alleviate the guilt of not giving her child the best food possible….

I am tired of wasting my breath of these people… they take the time away from those who really do want to breastfeed and really do need and want help…

This is really Cool!

It seems that a few breastfeeding resource centers in Quebec have gotten together and made this Poster….

It is in French but I added notes on Flickr with the Translation… (just click on the image)

The Deadly Influence of Formula…

I had found Dr. Linda Palmer’s site quite a long time ago and had lost it and sadly forgotten about it… but I found it again and wanted to share…. there are quite a few really good articles there…. especially this one…

The Deadly Infuence of Formula

Shows how formula feeding doubles the US infant death rate.

Forgot about this…

I completely forgot to talk about my night out!

I left on Saturday just before 6 while the Kids were eating supper…. both of them came and said goodbye to me and both had big smiles on their faces…. no tears, no “I want go wit’ you!!”…. just kisses and waves….
I got to where I was meeting Isabelle at the same time as she was pulling in and our converstation started…

I was only able to get the reservations to the retaurant for 8pm so we had two hours to kill… No Prob!… we went to Cactus (a cool Resto-bar) and had two beers and talked, and talked and talked…. heading out just before 8 and into the restaurant a few doors down… the restaurant we went to was the same that we went to the last time (and first time) we went out together at my Birthday last July… A little thai place that is always full and the food (and price) is amazing…
Both of us ordered “à la carte” starting with soup , spring rolls, a main dish of shrimp, onions and green pepper in a sweet and spicy sauce served with rice, and jasmine tea and lychees for dessert…

We left the restaurant at 10:30… We pretty much had one converstation that lasted from 6pm to 10:30 pm interupted only by bathroom breaks and talking the the waitress to order and say thanks when she bought our food….

It really did feel good…

However, I did make one big mistake….

Getting ready for the niht I had the bright idea to put a non-nursing bra on… It is the right size but my body is just not used to it anymore… and by 10pm I was starting to be uncomfortable, by 10:30 it was reallly starting to hurt, by the time I got home I was knew I had a blocked duct…. Xavier was still awake when I got home…. I nursed him right away but was in pain the whole time… I put heat on it, massaged it, took something for the pain and went to get Colin and brought him into our bed and got him to nurse a few times… I had chills and was in a lot of pain during the night and I tried to nurse often and massage as much as I could stand…. in the morning the pain had shifted but was still very much there…. All day Sunday I repeated the massaging, the frequent nursings and the heat…. Sunday night it was better, Monday morning even better and by monday night the pain was gone…..

It will be a long time before I risk using one of those things again….

I can’t believe that I forgot about this…

When Colin was at the hospital and I was anxious to get home I mentioned to the doctor that I had another nursling at home and she dared to comment on it!
She at first looked surprised and then asked how old he was and I told her that he was just about 3 and a half…
she then said it was time to wean him !!!!
OK… First I was already stressed and on edge cause I wanted them to get him of the Serum but that just hit me like a ton of bricks… but I am proud of myself… Everything came out perfectly and without a thought… every little reason she gave I responded without skipping a beat and I am actually happy that we did have the conversation in a way…
It went a bit like this….

Dr: You should wean him!
Me: Why?
Dr: He is 3.5… that’s too old?
Me: Actually 3.5 is young in my opinion…
Dr: But he is too old to be nursing still.
Me: Actually, the natural weaning age is between 2.5 and 7 years old, so he is still near the beginning… and I don’t believe in premature weaning.
Dr: But it must drain your energy.
Me: Why would that happen?
Dr: But he has teeth…
Me: So!… sometimes a 4 month old has teeth… would you advise the mom to wean because of that?
Dr: No… that’s true… you’re just the first person I have met that has nursed this long…

A bit later she heard me talking, saying that I have to go to Montreal to see our family doctor for the kids and she offered to be their ped (this is also after she found out that I am not vaxing)

Anyways…Even though I am OK with the conversation I can’t believe that a doctor would have the gall to actually comment on breastfeeding…. I know I hear others that rant about their awful, misinformed doctors but I am lucky that I never had experienced it until now…
The problem is that to be a breastfeeding counsellor we have to have to go through the Training that is put in place for Unicef’s “Baby-Friendly Initiative”
The nurses and Doctors at the hospitals that are working to become”Baby-Friendly” also have to go through the same training.
The Big problem is that that doctors are the ones that are most often not doing the training and hindering the hospitals. These know-it-alls actually know nothing about breastfeeding and they are the ones that have the most weight in the minds of most parents… and when they are given the chance to learn they don’t even want to do it!
How can people put all of their trust in these people?
Another thing that Irks me is parenting advice… Why the HECK do people take parenting advice from doctors! Why is the opinion of one person better then the instincts of a parent? Besides… in most cases with the hours that doctors are away from their homes and away from their children how can you expect them to know what they are talking about… I know there are some good docs out there that do have good parenting advice but I don’t think that a doctor’s office is the place to exchange that advice…

What I love about my Family Doc in Montreal is that he is always eager to learn. We don’t always agree but when it happens he rather exchange info then just try to convince me. He never gives advice that is out of the medical realm. He has never talked about sleep, feeding, potty-training etc… He doesn’t believe that parenting advice should be part of the doctor/ patient-parent relationship…

However, I find Montreal to be far away if I have a sick child to bring in… It’s a good hour drive, mostly highway, pretty rough stretches in the winter and about 30$ worth of gas… so I am debating whether to take this doc as a Ped. for the kids (not even 10 mins away)… even if she dared to say something about my nursing relationship, and I would keep the family doc anyways.

Milk money

there is a great quicktime video avaiblible on Dr.Jay Gordon’s Webpage about the Breastfeeding adds that have never been able o see the light because of the formula companies…

It aired on 20/20 and it is a bit long but worth the watch… and of course the site is a great resource too!!

CLSC last night…

I gave a Pre-natal last night and I got home at 10pm!… The nurse asked me if I could present some wraps and slings at the end of the class and I of course gladly accepted… We did the whole class, there was about 10 couples one of the biggest groups that I have had to date and also the most talkative. One mom in particular was very off the idea of breastfeeding and really had a head full of outdated info and tons of myths… she is having her second child 20 years after her first and I think is still dealing with guilt issues of her first parenting experience… Anyways I suffered through the stupid breastfeeding video from the 80’s that they have to show (I have seen it at least a dozen times now and it is just getting old!!) and then at the end of the class I showed the wrap and sling… everyone thought it was great and they all took my card… just as I was packing up a mom came up to me, asked about price, when she could call, where I live etc… and then asked if I always have some at home… I had brought the slings that I have left with me so I showed her what I had and she bought one right away…

The nurse came back in the room at that point and we started talking… the girl that bought the wrap is a local police officer and she and the nurse our friends… we started talking and something she said really surprised me… she HATES giving the classes because she doesn’t like what she has to say… she has to stick by the rules and they are the rules that she herself doesn’t adhere to… We talked about how hard it was to have to recommend things, teach things that we just don’t agree with. We have to put our own feelings and experiences aside and give the ‘blanket recommendation’ (Vit D supplements, co-sleeping etc)
We talked about how hard it was to talk about breastfeeding, talk about how important it is, talk about how easy it can be, talk about it being the best when you know very well that you are wasting your breath….

We both wished that we could stop talking about the importance of breastfeeding and could just focus on the dangers of Formula….

If Breastfeeding reduces the risks of :

Cancer (breast, ovarian, and uterine for mom and baby girls), obesity, asthma, Crohn’s disease, diabetes (and insulin requirements in diabetic mothers), Allergies, Helps prevent post-partum hemorrhage, Ear infections, diarrheal infections, bacterial meningitis, respiratory infections, rheumatoid arthritis, Hodgkins disease, protects baby against some vision defects, osteoporosis etc…etc…etc….

AND Breastfeeding is the NORMAL way to feed our child…

Then it can be easily concluded that Formula is a CAUSE of many of these diseases…

Again… I am Tired of talking about the benefits of breastfeeding when it is the dangers of Formula that we should be focusing on… but that will never happen because we don’t want to make moms feel ‘guilty’ and there is no money to be made by breastfeeding….

This of course is proof…

Anyways… it felt good to talk with someone that is in the same situation and it makes me feel good to know that there are more and more with the same ideas as me, people that I can share with and have great conversations with….

A few things about Formula…

What the WHO (World Health Organization) says:

“because of the hazards associated with using breast-milk substitutes, infant formula was no ordinary consumer product, but that, up to the age of four to six months, it should be treated more as a nutritional medicine that should be used with the advice and under the supervision of health workers. The report also noted that, even seen from the viewpoint of fostering competition, direct advertising to mothers with infants in the first four to six months of life was singularly inappropriate because:
· advertising infant formula as a substitute for breast milk competes unfairly with normal,
healthy breastfeeding, which is not subject to advertising, yet which is the safest and lowestcost method of nourishing an infant; and
· advertising infant formula as a substitute for breast milk favours uninformed decisionmaking, bypassing the necessary advice and supervision of the mother’s physician or health worker.
In this respect, the report concluded, it can be considered that advertising of infant formula fails to achieve the objectives of ensuring best quality and the lowest cost and creating an informed public, which are among the benefits assumed to be a result of direct advertising.”
“Those who suggest that direct advertising has no negative effect on breastfeeding should be asked to demonstrate that such advertising fails to influence a mother’s decision about how to feed her infant.”
“Proper use of infant formula should rather be the result of informed decision-making based on objective and consistent advice, and appropriate supervision. This message is implicit in the final paragraph of the preamble to the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, which states:
Believing that, in the light of the foregoing considerations, and in view of the vulnerability of infants in the early months of life and the risks involved in inappropriate feeding practices, including the unnecessary and improper use of breast-milk substitutes, the marketing of breast-milk substitutes requires special treatment, which makes usual marketing practices unsuitable for these products.
No breast-milk substitute, not even the most sophisticated and nutritionally balanced formula, can begin to offer the numerous unique health advantages that breast milk provides for babies.
Nor can artificial feeding do more than approximate the act of breastfeeding, in physiological and emotional significance, for babies and mothers alike. And no matter how appropriate infant formula may be from a nutritional standpoint, when infants are not breastfed or are breastfed only partially, feeding with formula remains a deviation from the biological norm for virtually all infants.”
http://www.who.int/nut/documents/infant_formula_trade_issues_eng.pdf“
18. The vast majority of mothers can and should breastfeed, just as the vast majority of infants can and should be breastfed. Only under exceptional circumstances can a mother’s milk be considered unsuitable for her infant. For those few health situations where infants cannot, or should not, be breastfed, the choice of the best alternative – expressed breast milk from an infant’s own mother, breast milk from a healthy wet-nurse or a human-milk bank, or a breast-milk substitute fed with a cup, which is a safer method than a feeding bottle and teat – depends on individual circumstances.19. For infants who do not receive breast milk, feeding with a suitable breast-milk substitute – for example an infant formula prepared in home-prepared formula with micronutrient supplements – should be demonstrated only by health workers, or other community workers if necessary, and only to the mothers and other family members who need to use it; and the information given should include adequate of inappropriate preparation and use. Infants who are not breastfed, for whatever reason, should receive special attention from accordance with applicable Codex Alimentarius standards, or a instructions for appropriate preparation and the health hazards the health and social welfare system since they constitute a risk group.”

Other interesting articles:
The Deadly Influence of Formula in America Linda Folden Palmer, DC

http://www.babyreference.com/InfantDeaths.htm

Dangers of Formula
http://www.lactivist.com/dangform.html

http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/milk061004.cfm