Rowena Gray - Born to Breastfeed: The First Six Weeks and Beyond

the first six weeks and beyond

Rowena Gray RN, RM, IBCLC

WITH NUTRITION CONSULTANT ANNE HILLIS DNFS, CERT DIET, DIP ED

Published by Coretext Books

43 OConnell Street, North Melbourne VIC 3051

www.coretextbooks.com.au

First published by Coretext Books in 2015

Copyright 2015, Rowena Gray and Anne Hillis

The moral rights of the authors have been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Coretext Pty Ltd.

Note to readers

Great care has been taken to provide accurate general information on breastfeeding. However, this book is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Please consult a qualified lactation consultant or medical practitioner if you have any concerns about your babys health or your own wellbeing. The authors and publishers cannot accept legal responsibility for any issues arising from the contents of this book.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Gray, Rowena, author.

Born to breastfeed: the first six weeks and beyond / Rowena Gray with Anne Hillis.

ISBN 9780977502950 (paperback)

ISBN 9780977502974 (Ebook)

Includes index.

Breastfeeding Australia. Breastfeeding Immunological aspects. Infants Nutrition. Hillis, Anne, author.

649.33

Cover image: Corbis Images / Aurelie and Morgan David de Lossy

Design by Mary Callahan

Illustrations by Toni Horne

Printed in China by Everbest Printing Co Ltd

For my husband, Daniel, whose support and understanding throughout our own breastfeeding adventures is something I wish every mum could have. And for our three beautiful daughters, Emily, Rebecca and Natalie, who taught me firsthand the joy, frustration, pain and sheer magic of being a breastfeeding mum.

Rowena Gray

For my husband Geoff, who supports me in my endeavours to promote good nutrition to parents to help raise healthy and happy children.

Anne Hillis

While there are many areas of controversy in the world of nutrition, there is unequivocal evidence that breastmilk is best to feed our babies. In Australia the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) recently updated its advice after reviewing the scientific research. The Council now recommends exclusive breastfeeding to around six months of age and continuing to breastfeed alongside complementary foods until the baby is 12 months of age and longer if both Mum and baby wish. Unfortunately we are not achieving anywhere near these recommendations.

Although we have excellent rates of mums initiating breastfeeding after birth with 96 per cent choosing to do so, this falls away dramatically in the first few months. By three months of age only 39 per cent of babies are still being exclusively breastfed, and by five months only 15 per cent.

There are a number of reasons why this may occur. Mothers returning to work, lack of support in dealing with breastfeeding problems, concerns over whether the baby has enough milk, wanting others to be able to feed the baby, and a lack of confidence to breastfeed, especially in public, have all been cited as reasons to cease breastfeeding. In some cases there is also a lack of understanding about the benefits of breastfeeding for both mum and baby and so the motivation to continue doing so may dwindle.

Having breastfed two babies myself and listened to other mothers around me describe their various problems, anxieties and attitudes to breastfeeding, I well understand these concerns. But the fact is the vast majority of these obstacles can be overcome and with more information and understanding we can promote a shift in attitudes of both mothers and those around them to better support longer breastfeeding practices.

That is where this fantastic book from Rowena Gray and Anne Hillis comes in. Not only does it expertly explain the science and physiology of breastfeeding, clearly outlining the many benefits, it packs in all of the practical information a new mum needs to know.

Every conceivable problem or worry is covered with potential solutions and direction given as to where to seek further help when necessary. I have no doubt that this will fast become the feeding bible for all new mums and I sincerely hope the end result is far more babies reaping the benefits of natures truly amazing first food.

Dr Joanna McMillan (drjoanna.com.au)

PhD qualified dietitian and nutritionist, author and health presenter

During my first pregnancy, the seemingly benign, So, do you plan to breastfeed? question was everywhere and I quickly got into the habit of providing the politically neutral response, If I can, I will. I did the reading, searched the sites, collected the pamphlets, and talked to the experienced and the passionate. The information was there.

Then I met my daughter, and thanks to a couple of post-birth complications, the harsh plastic wall of a humidicrib separated us within minutes of her arrival and for the next five days. As I watched and waited for her tiny systems to kick into gear, I found myself saying, I will breastfeed my child if its the last thing I do. The will was there.

Bolstering my arsenal, I had a supportive mother who had breastfed each of her children for about 12 months, excellent access to council maternal and child health services, and a very good friend who was also a caring and extremely competent lactation expert. The way was there.

Surely, that was all that was needed.

And yet, the disruption of those first five days proved to be a monumental hurdle. The special care nursery treatment program of constant lights and a miniscule protective blindfold, combined with around-the-clock formula feeds (supplemented at every opportunity with expressed colostrum), meant that my daughters sense of rhythm, routine and feeding technique were skewed from the outset.

With the breakdown of sleeping patterns that eventuated, the breakdown of feeding patterns followed. Through the fog of fatigue, I was struggling to pull together the breastfeeding safety net I thought I had so carefully constructed as feeding became painful, seemingly ineffective and altogether unpleasant.

Thankfully, those around me refused to let us fall, and after several months through the gracious assistance of many my daughter and I finally started to hit our straps. I went on to breastfeed her to 14 months, at which point she decided that she was ready for bigger (if not better) things.