I think that crazy bfing lady is making the rounds

smurfetteinred

The one that was stirring up trouble on (0-6?) the other day. I am seriously questioning whether this is her: My OB said what?!

It's in the comments - about halfway down. It starts a sh*t storm so you really can not miss it. 

luvlieK

WOW

ashawee127

Wow that's crazy.

 Now, I have to throw my own two cents in about human milk fortifying.
In our specific NICU (I can't speak for every one) we encourage all moms to pump milk for their babies or breastfeed (when possible).  Levels of certain vitamins/minerals are checked often in these small babies, and when they are deficient, often times human milk fortifier is added to boost the amount of calories and certain vitamins/minerals that the baby is consuming.  We encourage this over straight formula feeding, because the babies are getting the benefit of the breastmilk.  Babies born before ~32 weeks gestation cannot breastfeed or take any milk by mouth, therefore they are fed through a feeding tube.  Breastmilk is the best food for them, but small babies require higher amounts of calories in order to grow and thrive.  Adding human milk fortifier increases the amount of calories that they are consuming.  These babies burn a lot of calories trying to grow, stay warm, breathe and process stimuli in their environment, and need those extra calories from the human milk fortifier.

That being said, I feel sorry for those moms that were discouraged from handling their preemies.  There is a specific way preemies DO need to be handled, but they should never be discouraged from handling them.  

One thing I don't like is when people make assumptions about nurses and think they all want to push things on families.  While it is very important to be an advocate for your child, keeping an open mind is often necessary and vital.  Questioning things is important, but so is listening to the other side.

Flame if you want, I just wanted to have my say.

felt_tip_pen

Whoa.

Also, pretty sure if formula had no nutritional value whatsoever, my son would not be alive, since that's what he was fed for the first year of his life. It's people like her that push the "fight" between breastfeeding moms and formula-feeding moms. It's like people who go around saying it's oh-so-wrong to have a baby if you're just going to go to work after you have it (for the moms, that is, not the dads. Dads can apparently love their kids AND work).

It's ridiculous divisive bullshit, and it takes away from the real issues that mothers should be working with each other to fix (say, fewer intervention-pushing medical professionals, more affordable prenatal coverage, better maternity leave and childcare options for mothers who want or need to work, etc). There's just SO much that we should stick together on to make things better for all of us, and getting stuck in a petty, "Who's the better mom" contest derails it, and trivializes the real arguments-- like that formula really is pushed because it makes people money.

The whole thing just makes me so mad

smurfetteinred

No flames here. I'm sure it's needed in many cases and I'm sure that you are a wonderful nurse. 

I totally understand it in an underweight very preemie baby who needs to put on weight and put it on fast. However if you read through the comments, this baby was 35 weeks and 4.5 pounds. There was no reason that the mom couldn't handle that baby and it seems like the nurse in question may have been a bit overzealous.

I do think that some people on that site tend to jump to conclusions that all health care professionals in the labor and deliver and maternity wards are out to get you. But, in their defense, many of them have had really bad experiences with these particular professionals. 

And I agree with you - many of the nurses/ doctors are trying to do the right thing and help you but there are some special kind of crazy ones out there. With Ariel, I had a late night nazi nurse who was every kind of stereo type when it comes to the maternity ward. She gave me grief about wanting her to room with me all the time. Told me in a very nasty manner that she would get fired if I didn't let her take her to weigh her (which I never told her she couldn't do in the first place), tried to scare me into having her take Ariel back to the nursery by telling me that if I fell asleep, she could choke on the fluid in her lungs and die and it would be silent and I'd never hear her (while she wasn't successful in getting her to take her to the nursery, it did manage to turn me from easy going second time mom to freaking out that my baby was going to stop breathing mom - thanks bsc nurse) Actually, I should submit that one! 

purplepuggles

i can't even read stuff where people weigh in on preemie issues anymore. i get too riled up and annoyed, and no one ever "gets it" like i want them to anymore. i couldn't even read that whole thing.

purplepuggles

i can't even read stuff where people weigh in on preemie issues anymore. i get too riled up and annoyed, and no one ever "gets it" like i want them to anymore. i couldn't even read that whole thing. DS needed formula added to my milk for a long time (even after his due date) because he didn't gain weight otherwise. he just needed more calories. granted, he was an early preemie, but some "late preterm" babies have really different needs than full-term babies too.

smurfetteinred

Sorry to have gotten everyone riled up. That certainly wasn't my intent with this post! I only meant to poke fun at the wacko formula is poison, don't donate trash lady. I have rolled my eyes at a few of the posts on that site before so you're definitely not the first people to have disagreed with them.

luvlieK

smurfetteinred:

Sorry to have gotten everyone riled up. That certainly wasn't my intent with this post! I only meant to poke fun at the wacko formula is poison, don't donate trash lady. I have rolled my eyes at a few of the posts on that site before so you're definitely not the first people to have disagreed with them.

We should all just hope to have as awesome milk and knowledge as her.  The tone makes the difference by the way ;o)