Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jan
31
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“I Don’t Like The Looks Of Them…”
“I don’t like the looks of them. You will never breastfeed.” – Lactation consultant to mother, helping her breastfeed 12 hours after birth. Mother went on to breastfeed exclusively for 12 months.
There are 15 comments to this post.
unfortunately very few hospitals are willing to pay for their nurses to become Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultants, or to pay IBCLC’s the salary they deserve. It’s easier to send a nurse to a weekend course and start calling her the “lactation consultant” since most women don’t know the difference or know what sort of certification to look for.
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Sarah's mom Reply:
February 1st, 2010 at 4:18 pm (Quote)
Thanks for the support… I was lucky to be there for Sarah, I just feel bad for every other mom that encountered that “LC”. I am IBCLC for 20 years with 3 years breastfeeding experience between my two daughters. When a mom has educated herself, weighted the pros and cons, and decided that breastfeeding is the best option for herself and her baby, she deserved to be treated with respect, and supported in her decision. To point out preceived inadequacies is horrendous! Motivated mothers can rule the world, and if you are reading this, and discouraged, seek help from experienced, caring professionals! Babies are smarter than we think, and they don’t know that they aren’t suppose “like your nipple shape”….they learn, adjust, and nurse for over a year without problems… I am proud of the mothers choosing to nurse, and the professionals, family and friends that are supporting them…
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Kat Reply:
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:30 am (Quote)
Thanks for all you do! We need more supportive caring people like you. I have a mom who is experienced and supportive with breastfeeding, and her encouragement meant a LOT to me when I was starting out.
I hope one day I will get the opportunity to support and encourage my daughters in feeding their own babies.
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YOU don’t like the looks of them? Because my baby seems pretty pleased. Not to mention…
Anyway, I didn’t know looks had anything to do with it. Because mine aren’t that, um, spectacular looking after baby #4, but they’re still working in all the ways that count!
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This was my submission. An LC told me this in the hospital, after I had vaginally delivered my 10 lb son. She didn’t like the “look” of my flat/inverted nipples. And, the fact that I have PCOS meant that “you will never have a good enough supply”. Several times she tried to get me to rent the hospital pump, since I “won’t be able to get any milk without it.” When I brought up her comments to my OB at my 6 week appointment and informed him that I was breastfeeding without problem, he said that she was “using reverse psychology”. Seriously?
Luckily for me, my mom is a NICU nurse and LC (a good one lol) and she was able to help me during those first few feedings. It scares me when medical professionals say discouraging things like this, especially to first time mothers who are experiencing all of the hormonal changes right after birth.
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Jane Reply:
January 31st, 2010 at 3:18 pm (Quote)
It’s too bad the hospital didn’t REALLY use reverse-psychology. “Oh, we don’t have a lactation consultant at all.” Because effectively, they don’t.
Sheez.
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Fiona Reply:
January 31st, 2010 at 10:50 pm (Quote)
I have PCOS and flat nipples. I had a homebirth and my midwife was so supportive. I did end up pumping for a couple of weeks and gave a small amount of formula (300ml), but have just weaned my daughter at 2 years and 5 months. Some people are just clueless.
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Janet Reply:
February 1st, 2010 at 5:16 am (Quote)
Wow! This amazes me….
I just graduated from UC San Diego Extension and now I am a Certified Lactation Consultant Educator (we work with “normal” lactation and are trained to refer difficult cases). We were told to never never never never never (well you get the point *lol*) judge whether a mom can breastfeed because of their breast size/shape, and how their nipples look may alter how we help them latch, but doesn’t stop anything.
It’s actually very rare for someone to not be able to lactate at all…. and recommending a pump?? Sheesh. Pumps don’t work the same way as babies. Babies nurse by compression and pumps work by sucking. One has nothing to do with the other.
I’d bet the OB saying it was “reverse psychology” was more he was trying not to make the “LC” look worse than she already had 
Oh, and I also have PCOS and Endometriosis. I nursed for 5 years straight between my two kids.
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The Deranged Housewife had this to say,
Jan 31, 2010 @ 10:49 am (Quote)
LOL My husband just said, “Talk about arrogance!”
When are people going to learn that the size of the container doesn’t dictate the amount of output. It’s not like a gallon of milk, idiot.
I kind of laughed when the LC came to visit me when I had my third…turns out I had breastfed way longer than she did so she pretty much shut up and left. LOL
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Knitted in the Womb Reply:
February 1st, 2010 at 6:37 am (Quote)
I wish I’d thought to point out to my pediatrician that I had more nursing experience than her when she started advising how to wean my 4th child when he was 6 WEEKS old! That and she told me I should not pump before going to bed. I felt like saying “look, lady, I just told you I have an over-supply. If I don’t pump before bed, I wake up at 3 a.m. painfully engorged, and have to pump then!”
Considering that some hospital LC’s didn’t breastfeed at all…not hard for a third time mom to out-nurse them.
I mean really, if a woman who hasn’t had children wants to become an LC, I salute her…but I just think it is a bad idea for a woman who has children, none of whome were successfully breastfed, to be an LC.
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I had only one person tell me I would not be able to BF my last child. I BFed my eldest 2, but was diagnosed with Graves Disease before #3, and apparently women with GrD cannot exclusively breastfeed successfully (apparently we cannot get pregnant either but thats a whole other story…) longer than about 10 weeks, and once the antibidy levels spike it can be dangerous. The recommendation was to combo-feed to 10 weeks-ish then drop to formula.
Anyhoo. She is now almost 2, still on her “boop” with no formula except the 3 weeks I had radiation therapy, and my Obstetrician – who is lovely btw – and her paediatrician have now officially started telling their other GrD patients to breastfeed as much and as long as they can, because before me, they were just saying there was no point trying to BF exclusively with it. It was hard, so much more draining than the other 2, but I did it, and she is healthier than they ever hoped for. I am so very proud of that fact.
Its scary just how much misinformation we are fed, not out of vindictiveness or laziness, but just because there is no better information.
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Serene Reply:
September 13th, 2010 at 6:43 am (Quote)
sorry its late and I am unwell. I better clarify.
To be supportive, when I said that despite the recommendation to combo-feed, I wanted to exclusively breastfeed, my doctor and paediatrician and midi were all very supportive, and said they would be with me all the way to help me succeed to 6 months (I put that as my initial goal) of exclusive breastfeeding. Well, I did it. Only once in nearly 2 years has she had formula.
Only one person ever said I would not be able to breastfeed at all. She also had a tantrum when I didnt want iron, testing for GBS etc etc…
Pfft.
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LACTATION CONSULTANT??? More like paid mole for the formula companies. GRRRRRRR…
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