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Supplementary Feeding for Newborns

Y

ylop

Member
Real Person*
Hi.

My latest baby didn't get a decent breastfeed for quite some time, but we persisted with breast only and got milk eventually.

I believe in 100% breastfeeding, and have put eight children through it so far (well done the male supporting act anyway).

But I would appreciate your thoughts, especially anyone with a health/scientific/medical background, on this blog:

http://insufficientbreastfeedingdangers.blogspot.com.au/

Cheers,

ylop
 
Fresh, unpasteurized, raw goat milk bought from the local farm is the best thing after human breast milk. It would be a wonderful supplement. I have had stomach ulcers in the past and have gone on a goat milk fast (prescribed by a doctor for my grandfather with the same issue decades ago) and had nothing but goat milk, no other food or drink but water, for 40 days, and I felt great and had enough. It's packed with vitamin B6, vitamin A, potassium, niacin, copper, selenium, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, all the nutrients you need to absorb other nutrients naturally and flourish. I know, because of state laws, it's extremely hard to find raw goat milk, but if you have a local farm, look on craigslist, you can go and buy directly from them in most cases depending on your state law. I used to raise milk goats and our family thrived on the stuff. We would still have them but we sold our farm to get out of debt and we are saving to build one debt-free. I had a friend who's baby wound up receiving a blood transfusion due to an iron deficiency. She was breast feeding and had no idea she was low in iron. We read up on it and found that the goat milk is packed full of iron, and studies have shown it prevents iron deficiencies. Many babies cannot digest cow's milk or are allergic to it, but goat's milk is easier on their tummy's and less likely to be a problem for babies allergic to milk. Goat's milk is low in folic acid, though, whereas cow's milk is high in that. Maybe the breast milk might make up for that.
 
My now ex-wife's milk was very deficient with our last child together. You could tell a huge difference from the previous children. It wasn't filling him up. We mixed her milk with baby rice and he did fine. He's 11 now and as healthy and smart and well adjusted as his older siblings. Definitely breast milk is best but a child can thrive on only partial breastmilk diet.
 
Not to offend anyone regarding their own personal experience, but to be honest I feel too many women give up too quickly, and falsely believe they are unable to produce sufficient milk at birth, because they never get properly taught to breastfeed. The medical professionals who assist with their birth are simply not trained lactation consultants, and they don't get given proper guidance from a lactation consultant. So they don't get shown how to breastfeed properly, the milk doesn't come in properly, they believe they need to supplement with something else, reducing the baby's demand for milk, reducing milk production further, and there is a rapid downward spiral.

Certainly some do have insufficient milk. And it is a great shame that more research is not done into human milk production, and how to enhance it. Reproductive "health" research tends to be around how to stuff up the body rather than how to make it work better.

However my gut feeling is that most women reading that blog would believe they were the 1 in 20 with insufficient milk, and use it as a reason to give up too soon. I've seen it before.

We're not mad breasfeeding nutters, we're in the process of putting our 5th on to formula right now as Sarah's body has prudently decided feeding the baby inside her is a higher priority than producing milk! Formula is a great tool when needed, it's really good it exists. And we're seriously considering natural goats milk as a possibly better alternative also, given that our son is 7 months old so probably doesn't need all the other additives they put in the commercial stuff, can get it from food. There's a time and a place for everything.

I just fear that articles like that panic new mothers and distort the balance of what is right in their particular time and place.
 
Just the first paragraph should tell you everything you need to know. The words used are designed to make people panic and see a problem where there isn't one. "A child is admitted to hospital every minute due to dehydration or jaundice." That may be true in America, but they could be dehydrated due to a huge range of things, including having a vomiting bug. Jaundice is also caused by a range of things, and not just low breastmilk. The fact that that statement was used to scaremonger makes me doubt the rest of their information.

I've breast fed all of my children as long as they would go for, and #5 is certainly the shortest. As Samuel said, my body has decided to feed the child inside, rather than the one out. At the moment he's on goat formula, but we're thinking of putting him on to just straight goat's milk. I'd be interested if anyone has any information on what added vitamins and minerals babies need, and whether goat's milk is enough (with some solids) or if they need to be on the formula.
 
I should have mentioned that we are strong proponents of breastfeeding and my wife tries very hard to breastfeed for one full year. My ex-wife was also a committed breast feeder although all her children quit the breast around 6 months voluntarily, mostly due to subsequent pregnancies. The fear can cut both ways though. If a child has gotten a good solid start on breast milk and there is a legitimate reason why he can't continue, which is definitely much rarer than the doctors will tell you, then there is no need to panic. There are acceptable alternatives. The problem with my ex-wife wasn't volume but quality. It was weak and lacked the sweetness. It was watery and grey and just didn't have the nutrients in my opinion. He was feeding every hour and a half long past when he should have been stretched out to three hours. I made the call to mix in the rice and it helped. He instantly started going longer between feedings. He still breast fed, but after that he would get a bottle of breast milk and rice.
 
This is all in the past so entirely hypothetical - but if a baby is feeding that frequently they'll be having smaller feeds, so only getting foremilk, which is watery like that. Keep them going that frequently and you get exactly the situation you describe. Which is one of the problems with feeding on demand, babies feed too frequently and get too little nutrition.

It may be that if a child in that situation was forced to feed every 3 hours by putting them into a routine, they should automatically be hungry enough by then to drink so much that they get into the hindmilk, stimulating even more hindmilk production, and get proper nutrition. We've seen massive differences between babies breastfed on demand and in a routine, both our own and others.

I'm not saying this to be critical. To be honest, I'm only writing this because I can see this thread being found by someone in the same situation searching for answers, and I am making sure that the fact there may be other options is written down here, as I wouldn't want someone jumping for the baby rice too quickly. From a nutritional perspective baby rice is disastrous, shouldn't even be given as a solid food really, it's now being linked to obesity in later life, there are always better alternatives... Just making sure a future reader has multiple options to consider.

Glad this worked for you.
 
Right and we did and I still do put them on a schedule as soon as possible. That was my fifth child and we had scheduled the previous 4. I know people make a lot of excuses but my wife's milk just wasn't the same. I think it might of had something to do with her getting her tubes tied after that pregnancy too. So I agree that 9 times out of ten every woman can breast feed but that particular child something has changed.
 
Given that was your 5th child, you knew what you were doing, good on you. As I said, I was writing for other readers.
 
Well I may have gotten a little defensive. I get pretty frustrated with the medical sheep and didn't want to get lumped in with them.
 
ZecAustin said:
... I get pretty frustrated with the medical sheep and didn't want to get lumped in with them.
Click to expand...

You know they have pill for that now. J/K. :cool:
 
I love how there are mostly guys posting on this thread. It makes me smile to think that there are dads out there who care about these things. Who desire to be a support to their wives in times of difficulty with breastfeeding and who first off encourage them to do it. Good for you guys! :)
 
No, we just like to look at breasts, and the more women we can encourage to breastfeed, the more will breastfeed in public, and the more we'll manage to catch a glimpse of.
 
Samuel!! I am telling your wife! lol
 
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