But What About Breast Feeding? Part Two
In the previous post, I explained the important role breast feeding played in our newborn son’s recovery from surgery immediately after his birth. In this post, I want to assure those of you who aren’t breast feeding for whatever reason, I am not trying to burden you with guilt or judge you in any way. That said, I encourage moms who want to breast feed, even if their newborns are struggling with health issues, to pursue their desire.
Breast Feeding Babies with Disabilities
If your newborn has a disability, you may wonder if you should give up your dream of breast feeding your baby. In many cases, you don’t need to do that. Go to this page at the La Leche League website for a general overview of the subject of breast feeding babies with disabilities. For information about specific conditions or disabilities, check out the links on their Breastfeeding Disabled or Handicapped Babies resource page. And remember that even if your baby has a stomach tube, you can express breast milk for tube feedings.
Advantages of Breast Feeding
According to the La Leche League, breast feeding provides babies with several advantages:
- Studies show breast milk provides antibodies for childhood illnesses.
- Breast feeding decreases the likelihood of allergies and dental issues.
- Brest feeding aids jaw, tooth and speech development as well as overall facial development.
Mothers also benefit from breast feeding in the following ways:
- Saves time.
- Saves money.
- Saves the environment.
- Reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
To find more information about the general benefits of breast feeding, visit the La Leche League’s resource page.
Choose What’s Best for You and Your Baby
Once you’ve considered your choices carefully, make the decision that works for your family in your particular situation. If you do choose to breast feed, don’t go it alone. Ask the NICU nurses for assistance. They help moms learn to breast feed disabled children all the time. If for some reason they can’t help you, use the La Leche League’s locater to find someone who can.
Most of all, be patient. Considering the stress in your life right now, it may take awhile for your milk to come in, for you to get the hang of pumping, and for your baby to learn to nurse. But you can do it, and so can your baby.
If you have tips about how to breast feed NICU babies, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!
My story from 27 years ago may provide a bit of advice for NICU/pediatric nurses:
I was determined to breastfeed my newborn daughter while she was hospitalized for three weeks for treatment of a staphylococcal septicemia. My baby couldn’t nurse very vigorously due to her illness, and the nursing staff put quite a bit of pressure on me to give up breastfeeding, saying it would be so much easier to give her formula. That only increased the stress I was feeling, which of course inhibited my milk production. Fortunately, our pediatrician intervened. He told me that breastfeeding was the best thing I could do to help my baby fight the infection and that it was so important for our bonding. He also told the nursing staff in no uncertain terms to leave me alone!
Nurses – do all you can to support moms who are willing and able to breastfeed. Your encouragement is great “medicine”!
Thanks for sharing your experience, Deb. Young parents need to remember that health care professionals aren’t experts about everything. If they don’t seem to know much about helping you breast feed, contact the La Leche League. They are the experts in this area.