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 Am I Starving My Baby?Robert P. Lindeman, MD, PhD Natick Pediatrics, PC You have just given birth. Months of planning and hoping and dreaming have climaxed in the arrival of a beautiful healthy baby. Maybe you put the baby to breast shortly after she was born. Not much happens, but then, not much is supposed to happen. Exhausted but happy you fall asleep. About two hours later you put her to breast again. She latches on well and starts sucking. There’s a little colostrum this time, but not much else. In a few minutes the baby falls asleep again. Twenty-four hours later it’s the same situation: A lot of going to breast but your milk hasn’t come in. The baby is starting to cry louder now; she seems hungry. The next day your milk still hasn’t come in. Now the baby seems really hungry. You haven’t slept in two days, neither has the new father. You begin to worry," I’m not producing any milk," and the baby gets hungrier and hungrier. You feel you must be doing something wrong. The new grandmothers are telling you the baby is hungry and maybe you should give her a bottle? You had made up your mind you were going to try breastfeeding but now you’re not sure it was such a great idea. You begin to believe you are starving your baby. Hold it. Why is it that breast milk isn’t coming out full-blast as soon as the baby is born? It sure would save you a lot of worry and anxiety. Take it a step further: Why doesn’t breast milk start flowing before the baby is born? That way even if the baby comes early, there will be a supply of food ready to go for her! In order to understand why breast milk is not going great guns as soon as the baby is born, you must imagine the world as it was not very long ago. We are designed to survive hardship. Making breast milk takes a lot of energy from a woman. Thousands of years ago, when times were hard and food was scarce, the last thing a woman would want to do would be to make breast milk for a baby who wasn’t going to survive. The mother needed the energy that went into making breast milk: Her own survival was at stake. If she gave birth to a vigorous, hungry baby, however, the baby would start suckling like mad, in effect saying, "I’m here, you gotta feed me!" The baby’s suckling would stimulate her to make breast milk. We’re not well suited for prosperity. Today most mothers give birth to relatively large babies, historically speaking. These babies all lose some weight after birth. They’re designed to lose weight. This too is a remnant from earlier times. Healthy babies who survived the first few days of life could afford to lose some weight until the mother’s breast milk came in. It is not uncommon for a newborn baby to lose up to 10% of its birth weight. If the baby weighed nine pounds or more, 10% is a lot, and this alarms many parents. I tell these parents that I don’t expect a baby to get back to birth weight until day 10 to 14. Many babies do so well before then, however. Getting through the critical period Mothers who are committed to breastfeeding tend to have an easier time managing the difficulties of the first few critical days. But even these mothers can succumb to the natural worries about "starving the baby." It helps all mothers to know ahead of time that the first days will be rough. All the mothers I’ve known who’ve stuck with it during the critical period have been glad they did. A little is better than none. Ask for help! There are also numerous breastfeeding books and manuals. My personal favorite is The Nursing Mother’s Companion by Kathleen Huggins (National Book Network). For more information about Natick Pediatrics, or to talk to the doctor, please call the office at (508) 655-9699.
(508) 655-9699 Posted: April 14, 2003 |
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