|
1.
Many women do not produce enough milk.
Not
true! The vast
majority of women produce more
than enough milk. Indeed,
an overabundance of milk is common.
Most babies that gain too slowly, or lose weight, do so not
because the mother does not have enough milk, but because
the baby does not get the
milk that the mother has.
The usual reason that the baby does not get the milk that
is available is that he is poorly latched onto the breast.
This is why it is so important that the mother be shown, on
the first day, how to latch a baby on properly,
by someone who knows what they are doing.
2.
It is normal for breastfeeding to hurt.
Not
true! Though some
tenderness during the first few days is relatively common, this
should be a temporary situation that lasts only a few days and
should never be so bad that the mother dreads nursing.
Any pain that is more than mild is abnormal and is almost
always due to the baby latching on poorly.
Any nipple pain that is not getting better by day three
or four or lasts beyond five or six days should not be ignored.
A new onset of pain when things have been going well for
a while may be due to a yeast infection of the nipples.
Limiting feeding time does not prevent soreness.
Taking the
baby off the breast for the nipples to heal should be a last
resort only. (See
handout #3a Sore Nipples).
3.
There is no (not enough) milk during the first three or four
days after birth.
Not
true! It often
seems like that because the baby is not latched on properly and
therefore is unable to get the milk that is available.
When there is not a lot of milk (as there is not, normally,
in the first few days), the baby must be well latched on in
order to get the milk. This
accounts for "but he's been on the breast for 2 hours and
is still hungry when I take him off".
By not latching on well, the baby is unable to get the
mother's first milk, called colostrum.
Anyone who suggests you pump your milk to know how much
colostrum there is, does not understand breastfeeding, and
should be politely ignored.
Once the mother's milk is abundant, a baby can latch on
poorly and still may get plenty of milk.
4.
A baby should be on the breast 20 (10, 15, 7.6) minutes on each
side. Not
true! However, a
distinction needs to be made between "being on the
breast" and "breastfeeding". If a
baby is actually drinking
for most of 15-20 minutes on the first side, he may not want to
take the second side at all.
If he drinks only a minute on the first side, and then
nibbles or sleeps, and does the same on the other, no amount of
time will be enough. The
baby will breastfeed better and longer if
he is latched on properly.
He can also be helped to breastfeed longer if the mother
compresses the breast to keep the flow of milk going, once he no
longer swallows on his own (Handout #15 Breast
Compression). Thus
it is obvious that the rule of thumb that "the baby gets
90% of the milk in the breast in the first 10 minutes" is
equally hopelessly wrong. To
see how to know a baby is getting milk see the video.
5.
A breastfeeding baby needs extra water in hot weather. Not
true! Breastmilk
contains all the water a baby needs.
6.
Breastfeeding babies need extra vitamin D. Not
true! Everyone needs vitamin D. Formula
has it added at the factory.
But the baby is born with a liver full of vitamin D, and
outside exposure allows the baby to get the vitamin D from
ultraviolet light even in winter.
The baby does not need a lot of outside exposure and does
not need outside exposure every day.
Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and is stored in the
body. In some
circumstances (for example, if the mother herself was vitamin D
deficient during the pregnancy) it may be prudent to supplement
the baby with vitamin D. Exposing
the baby to sunlight through a closed window does not work to
get the baby more vitamin D.
7.
A mother should wash her nipples each time before feeding the
baby. Not
true! Formula
feeding requires careful attention to cleanliness because
formula not only does not protect the baby against infection,
but also is actually a good breeding ground for bacteria and can
also be easily contaminated.
On the other hand, breastmilk protects the baby against
infection. Washing
nipples before each feeding makes breastfeeding unnecessarily
complicated and washes away protective oils from the
nipple.
8.
Pumping is a good way of knowing how much milk the mother has. Not
true! How much milk
can be pumped depends on many factors, including the mother's
stress level. The
baby who nurses well
can get much more milk than his mother can pump.
Pumping only tells you have much you can pump.
9.
Breastmilk does not contain enough iron for the baby's needs. Not
true! Breastmilk
contains just enough iron for the baby's needs.
If the baby is full term he will get enough iron from
breastmilk to last him at least the first six months.
Formulas contain too
much iron, but this quantity may be necessary to
ensure the baby absorbs enough to prevent iron deficiency.
The iron in formula is poorly
absorbed, and the baby poops out most of it.
Generally, there is no need to add other foods to
breastmilk before about 6 months of age.
10.
It is easier to bottle feed than to breastfeed. Not
true! Or, this should
not be true. However,
breastfeeding is made difficult because women often do not
receive the help they should to get started properly.
A poor start can indeed make breastfeeding difficult.
But a poor start can also be overcome.
Breastfeeding is often more difficult at first, due to a
poor start, but usually becomes easier later.
11.
Breastfeeding ties the mother down. Not
true! But it
depends how you look at it.
A baby can be nursed anywhere, anytime, and thus
breastfeeding is liberating
for the mother. No
need to drag around bottles or formula.
No need to worry about where to warm up the milk.
No need to worry about sterility.
No need to worry about how your baby is, because he is
with you.
12.
There is no way to know how much breastmilk the baby is getting.
Not
true! There is no
easy way to measure how much the baby is getting, but this does not mean that
you cannot know if the baby is getting enough.
The best way to know is that the baby actually drinks at
the breast for several minutes at each feeding (open mouth
wide—pause—close mouth type of suck).
Other ways also help show that the baby is getting plenty
(Handout #4 Is my Baby
Getting Enough Milk?).
See the videos.
13.
Modern formulas are almost the same as breastmilk. Not
true! The same
claim was made in 1900 and before.
Modern formulas are only superficially similar to
breastmilk. Every
correction of a deficiency
in formulas is advertised as an advance.
Fundamentally, formulas are inexact copies based on
outdated and incomplete
knowledge of what breastmilk is.
Formulas contain no antibodies, no living cells, no
enzymes, no hormones. They
contain much more aluminum, manganese, cadmium, lead and iron
than breastmilk. They
contain significantly more protein than breastmilk.
The proteins and fats are fundamentally different from
those in breastmilk. Formulas
do not vary from the beginning of the feed to the end of the
feed, or from day 1 to day 7 to day 30, or from woman to woman,
or from baby to baby. Your
breastmilk is made as required to suit your baby. Formulas are
made to suit every baby, and thus no
baby. Formulas
succeed only at making babies grow well, usually, but there is
more to breastfeeding than nutrients.
14.
If the mother has an infection she should stop breastfeeding. Not
true! With very,
very few exceptions, the mother’s continuing to breastfeed
will actually protect the baby.
By the time the mother has fever (or cough, vomiting,
diarrhea, rash, etc) she has already given the baby the
infection, since she has been infectious for several days before
she even knew she was sick.
The baby's best protection against getting the infection
is for the mother to continue breastfeeding.
If the baby does get sick, he will be less sick if the
mother continues breastfeeding.
Besides, maybe it was the baby who gave the infection to
the mother, but the baby did not show signs of illness because
he was breastfeeding. Also,
breast infections, including breast abscess, though painful,
are not reasons to stop breastfeeding.
Indeed, the infection is likely to settle more quickly if
the mother continues breastfeeding on the affected side.
(Handouts #9a and b You
Should Continue Breastfeeding).
15.
If the baby has diarrhea or vomiting, the mother should stop
breastfeeding. Not
true! The best
medicine for a baby's gut infection is breastfeeding.
Stop other foods for a short time, but continue
breastfeeding. Breastmilk
is the only fluid your
baby requires when he has diarrhea and/or vomiting, except under
exceptional circumstances.
The push to use "oral rehydrating solutions" is
mainly a push by the formula manufacturers (who also make oral
rehydrating solutions) to make even more money.
The baby is comforted by the breastfeeding, and the
mother is comforted by the baby's breastfeeding.
(Handouts #9a and b You Should Continue Breastfeeding).
16.
If the mother is taking medicine she should not breastfeed. Not
true! There are
very very few medicines that a mother cannot take safely while
breastfeeding. A
very small amount of most medicines appears in the milk, but
usually in such small quantities that there is no concern. If a medicine is truly of concern, there are usually equally
effective, alternative medicines that are safe. The risks of artificial feeding for both the mother and the
baby must be taken into
account when weighing if breastfeeding should be continued (Handouts #9a and b You Should Continue Breastfeeding).
Questions?
(416) 813-5757 (option 3)
or drjacknewman@sympatico.ca
or my book Dr. Jack Newman’s Guide to Breastfeeding (called
The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers in the USA)
Handout
#11 Some Breastfeeding
Myths. Revised January 2005
Written by Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC. © 2005
This
handout may be copied and distributed without further
permission,
on the condition that it
is not used in any context in which the WHO code on the
marketing of breastmilk substitutes is violated.
|
