Canossa hospital - BF issues

[AndreaY]

I was there end of 2007 and for the 1st night shared room with a mommy who had CSection. She actually had the baby brought to her in the room and did not have to go to the nursing room. Think 1/2 way thru the 2nd day, they try to encourage her to go to nursing room to feed, but I heard the nurse very nicely saying she should see how she feels first.

It's great that you are so insistent on solely breastfeeding from the word go, but please relax and enjoy your baby. The nurses would try to accomodate you, but if they don't and you cannot feed as you want to, it is also not end of the world either.

It was a personal choice for me to have rest and not do the middle of the night feed whilst at hospital, but I managed to breastfeed both mine, 1 till 9 months and the other 14 months.

So, what I am saying is if all goes to your plan, then great, but if not, it's ok too, your baby will not be disadvantaged in any way if she takes formula/water a few times. You have to keep in mind that your plans may change anyway depending on how you feel after the birth, how well your baby feeds or how much milk you produce. Please don't get stressed over "plans" or whether they go exactly as you envisage them. As long as your baby is happy and healthy, everything else is relatively unimportant.

 

[firsttimedad]

Thanks Andrea for your advice, really appreciate it. Yes, you are right, as long as baby is healthy. We can switch to BF even if they give formula for one feed.

 

[LLL_Sarah]

Dear Firsttiimedad,

I hate being asked this question because I really don't have a good answer to it. If I was allowed to change one thing about Hong Kong hospitals I would stop the separation of mothers and babies - no matter how they are fed. I just don't see how a new mother is meant to start a relationship with her baby when they aren't together.

Having said that I realize that we need to work within the system to implement change. Often we think of the hospital policies as sacred. But in fact the doctors can and do bypass them everyday. Thus one way around them is to get the doctor on your side. If the baby's doctor instructs the nurses that the baby is to have only breast milk and that the baby needs taking to the mother in the middle of the night to feed it is much more likely to happen.

When a new mum has just has a baby she feels very vulnerable and is likely to do exactly what the nurses tell her, even if it is the exact opposite of what is written on her birth plan. This is where the father, who isn't in the same emotional state, can help by reminding the new mum of what she wants. He can also tell the nurses what they want as nurses seem to listen more to men than to women!

In 2000 there was a large study of mothers in Hong Kong who wanted to breastfeed. I spoke with one of the researchers and she told me a number of things that helped mothers to be successful:

Mothers with pre-natal breastfeeding education were more likely to succeed - there is too much conflicting information in hospitals for you to learn from the nurses.

The mothers who succeed actually had as many problems as the mothers who didn't but they had support. Find the support while you are still pregnant so that you know who to turn to when you encounter a problem. (And remember the earlier you call for help the easier the problem is to correct.)

The mothers who were assertive were more likely to succeed. As mentioned above this may not be easy straight after birth. Personally, I've always found tears rather than shouting a much more useful weapon in Hong Kong.

And if you find that things are really going wrong in the hospital give me a call (2548-7636) as I only live 10 minutes away for the Cannossa.

Best wishes,
SARAH

 

[Portia]

Firsttimedad
Please don't worry too much. I also remember being extremely concerned before I gave birth about the nurses feeding my baby formula or sugar water. As AndreaY says its a personal choice and you might end up changing your mind. In the end, I was so tired after 20 hours labour that I let them feed my baby in the night with sugar water and some formula. But I still managed to BF successfully until my LO was 15 months old, so it didn't make any difference in the end. What I do think made a difference was that I had a lactation consultant visit me 3 days after I gave birth and then twice a week for the next few weeks. That really helped boost my knowledge and confidence.