February 10th, 2005
These are impressive — I hope they make real change. Note the italics (mine) especially. It’d be great to see more practical support and information around induced lactation.
AAP Releases Revised Breastfeeding Recommendations:
Exclusive breastfeeding for approximately the first six months and support for breastfeeding for the first year and beyond as long as mutually desired by mother and child.
Mother and infant should sleep in proximity to each other to facilitate breastfeeding;
Self-examination of mother’s breasts for lumps is recommended throughout lactation, not just after weaning;
Support efforts of parents and the courts to ensure continuation of breastfeeding in cases of separation, custody and visitation;
Pediatricians should counsel adoptive mothers on the benefits of induced lactation through hormonal therapy or mechanical stimulation.
Recognize and work with cultural diversity in breastfeeding practices
A pediatrician or other knowledgeable and experienced health care professional should evaluate a newborn breastfed infant at 3 to 5 days of age and again at 2 to 3 weeks of age to be sure the infant is feeding and growing well.
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Categories: Parenting
I don’t know that hormonal therapy would be good for me. The reason I am adopting is because I have endometriosis, so screwing around with my hormones is not a pleasant thought.
Excuse me, did I move to another country?
Not to be too cynical, but I wonder how much most pediatricians know about adoptive breastfeeding.
My concern is the recommendation to supplement all nursing babies with Vitamin D drops. Why not just tell people to make sure their babies spend 5 minutes a day outside in the light? Ah, nothing to sell.
Brave, I agree with you, since most pediatricians still know hardly anything about breastfeeding in general.
My concern is always that the AAP or goverment entities give these great recommendations, but there is so little social support for them that women end up feeling guilty when it is not possible for them. If we really want women to breast feed then we need to legally protect a woman’s right to do so at work, and offer longer, better parental leave. I think these recommendations do raise awareness and bring about social change, slowly, but in the meantime, a lot of women are going to feel guilty because it was not possible for them to make it work.
Cheryl, I see your point, but don’t you think it would be irresponsible of the AAP *not* to make evidence-based recommendations because it might make people feel guilty? They make recommendations all the time about things a lot of parents don’t do…but the purpose is to raise awareness. Yes, social change needs to happen to make breastfeeding feasible for more women, but I think social change and recommendations like these go hand-in-hand. It will be more difficult to bring about the changes that are necessary to make this a breastfeeding-friendly society if breastfeeding doesn’t have the voiced support of respected and visible organizations like the AAP.
When I casually mentioned to my GYN that I was considering looking into attempting adoptive breastfeeding, she responded with an attitude that can only be described as freaked out. And then she regained something of a professional demeanor and strongly advised against it.
Needless to say, I didn’t really consider looking into attempting it very strongly after that. Ah, well. Ping is beyond wonderful and healthy and I found a multitude of other ways to foster a mighty attachment between us.
Still, I get a little sad sometimes, and also a little angry. Because far from being discouraged, breastfeeding is lauded, encouraged and expected in my neck of the woods. Which is great, but I wish some of the ardent “lactivist” moms would acknowledge that my relationship with my daughter is decidedly NOT suffering from not breastfeeding.
That’s my ramble.
Dawn,
I remember while reading your adoption section that I was so surprised that you didn’t attempt to re-lactate when you were expecting your daughter. You’d mentioned having a great experience of breastfeeding with your son.
I had a horrible experience with my son, pumping 8 months. At least all that pumping corrected my nipples and I feel ripped off by SIF and not being able to try again to have a normal breastfeeding relationship. I’d often thought that if adoption were in my cards, I’d attempt breastfeeding again.
Just offering random thoughts on the topic. If I had not had my son and done so much bfing research, I wouldn’t have known the re-lactation possibility existed. As hard as it was getting support for my difficult bfing experience, I can’t imagine finding proper support for an adoptive situation.
Brooklyn Mama — I’m willing to bet, though, those guidelines are for domestic adoption of newborns as opposed to adoption of infants from another country. I’m sure your dr’s reaction is more typical than not.
As much as I longed to breastfeed and considered it for our son who came home at 7.5 months, I no longer think I would for a child adopted from another country. Why? Adoption, while providing a forever family, changes their entire life — from smells, to climate, to foods, to caregivers. My son, for example, had not been breastfed and was used to bottlefeeding. To take that away from him, to change his feeding when everything else had changed, seemed cruel. That reasoning resonateS with me. I realized that breastfeeding was what *I* wanted rather than what my child was used to, what already gave him comfort. In fact, my son, who is wonderfully attached to his mom and dad, didn’t give up his nighttime bottle (which he took while lying in my arms) until he was over 3 — so I guess you could call it extended bottle feeding!