Breastfeed or else

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Specializes in ICU.

As an ICU RN in an adult ICU that has a LOT of Obstetrics cases I mostly see the Mums who cannot. We try but it really is an uphill battle for them and us at times. Especially the Post-partum cardiomyopathies who have to take cardiac drugs - they have to be so so careful of the timing of the breastfeeding, even to pumping and discarding 1-2 hours after taking thier meds so that the higher concentration is not given to the baby. We get VERY,VERY careful about NOT guilting these Mums out if they decide NOT to breastfeed. But the societal pressure is there and they can face some prejudice because they chose not to breastfeed.

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Specializes in Acute Med, Pediatric Hematology-Oncology.
I skimmed all the posts (whew1) and didn't see much of anything on this, so here goes:

I would like to see formula be by prescription only. If a mother chose to formula feed, she would have to meet with a pediatrician and a lactation consultant to ensure she was making an informed consent (in my time as a breastfeeding educator, I can't tell you how many times I heard reasons for bottlefeeding that were complete myths). This, of course, should occur before the baby is even born. For example, the PPD--there are meds that can be taken while breastfeeding. Maybe not the med that works for that particular mother--fine. But lets make sure she has the complete info before she has her baby.

Then, if mom is still going to formula feed, give her a script for it. It makes me sick that there are decent formulas out there -- easy to digest, with little or no pesticides or additives -- but unless your baby has a medical condition, you only get to choose from the bottom of the barrel. HELLO!! Why can't all formula fed babies benefit from high quality formulas? I would also like to see insurance pay for it. This is an artifical means of sustinance--similar to TPN and lipids. The creation of it should be strenuously regulated, there should be contant research to improve it, and the product itself should be paid for by insurance.

i agree with a few of your points. i would like to see high quality formula available to all mothers. but i don't think prescriptions is the way to go. ultimately, you would run into doctors who would refuse to prescribe due to the fact that they feel the mother should breastfeed.

i suppose i would like to see stricter controls on the production formula. this is nutrition for our children, and i think that there should be constant research on how to better improve the formula. i do realize that formulas are better nowadays then they were 20 years ago, but there's always room for improvement. as well, not all formulas are created equal and more emphasis needs to be placed on finding the right formula for the baby.

just my humble two cents worth.

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I do agree with what you say, about all babies should have access to the better formulas. But I don't like the idea that all formula's should be by prescription only.

It may cause moms to try to concoct their own formula's. While this can be safe if done correctly, what if it isn't? I would hate to see a baby get sick/die b/c a doctor wouldn't write a script b/c he wanted mom to continue BFing. Or if mom did not have money or insurance to see the doctor for a script. Women may do this b/c they do not have insurance, or crappy insurance. My co-pay is $40. Would a can of formula cost me $40 then? It would also cause insurance premiums to go up, and I think they are high enough!

Also... What happens at 0300 on Christmas Eve and the pharmacy is closed, and you run out of formula? Or the can accidentally spills all over the floor? Does baby have to wait until the pharmacy opens to get more formula? There is always a wal-mart or convienent store open somewhere if that were the case and it is not by prescription.

I like the idea that women get to make their own choices for their babies, provided they are feeding and taking care of their babies.

I work with alot of low income mamas, and alot of them DO make their own formula, especially when the formula from WIC runs out. Formula is expensive. If these babies' medical cards covered their formula, then perhaps I wouldn't see so many mamas feeding their babies overmixed formula (as in, twice as much water as called for), milk mixed with syrup or molasses, even supplementations with gatorade.

What do you do when you spill your meds, or run out in the middle of the noc? You call an all night pharmacy. You plan ahead. It's no different than any other med for a serious condition.

If someone wants to bottle feed, we dont' fire them from our practice. We try to figure out why they want to bottle feed--in many instances it is due to poor education or support. We do what we can with that. In some instances it is a very informed decision. Fine. We don't fire smokers from our practice, either. We encourage them to quit, explore options if they are interested, if they say they aren't interested in quitting, fine, we leave it at that. We've made it clear we encourage what we feel is healthiest for the baby and the mama( breastfeeding, decreasing/quitting smoking, increasing activity for sedentary moms, etc) and let them make their own decisions. We just want them to be informed of the consequences of their lifestyle and their decisions.

It's part of being responsible healthcare providers, and it is part of being a parent, too. We take care of HUMANs, and humans aren't perfect. It's okay. I'm not perfect, either! Uhh, pretty far from it, actually! When I was a smoker, when I went to the doc for my annual, every year I got the quitting smoking spiel. As I should have. It would have been negligent, in my opinion, if my doc had not made it clear that I could improve my health by quitting, and by making sure I understood the risks involved. But I wasn't make to feel like the scum on the bottom of a shoe, either. Information was given, and then I was given the responsiblity of making my own decisions. That's what I try to do with mamas that choose to bottlefeed.

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Formula by prescription only? Ah.......make it one step harder for people to adopt........

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Specializes in OB.
Formula by prescription only? Ah.......make it one step harder for people to adopt........

and more expensive. You'd have to have a Dr appt, wait forever, then rationalize/explain your need, justify why you want the formula, why your breastmilk is not the way you want to go

In a perfect world, we would all breast feed our babies till they were one. We would be able to do this serenely, like the angels we are, because in this perfect world, a mother would be subsidized for her loss of income from staying home with her new baby and could afford to not work. She would not have to pump in a grungy bathroom on her lunch break, or leave her precious newborn with a sitter because she has to pay the rent.

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Specializes in L & D; Postpartum.

Subsidizing moms to stay at home (prolonged paid maternity leave) would further increase my own taxes to the point that I, too, would have to become a ward of the state.

I have no problem with women who choose to breastfeed and also choose to return to work. However, I do not feel that the rest of the work force, or the taxpaying public, many of whom are childless by choice, should have to pick up the slack in any way. I have adult children, both of whom now reside out of state, but I still pay, and pay a lot, of property tax which supposedly goes to the educational programs in this state. I'm of the age that I would like my tax dollars going to finance better 911 services, better programs for seniors, but we don't really get to make those designations, do we?

If you can't afford to stay at home, then perhaps you can't afford to raise children at this time. No reason for others to finance that for you.

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Specializes in Pain Management.
I haven't read all the posts, but have one comment for Josh. He mentioned his ex-wife. I'd much prefer to see a bottlefed baby than a child of divorce. Did you not work hard enough in your marriage? Do you feel you should be brought to task for failing your baby? OF COURSE NOT! Many things affect our children. In the grand scheme of things, bottle feeding is a bit lower priority than the break up of a family IMHO.

It's not my kid. Her child is with her new husband that has much more in common with her, including religion and world outlook. In addition, my fiance and I are much better off, and our son is a perfect example of that.

Divorce was the best thing to happen to us. If we could do it all over again, we would probably still get married, learn all that we did, then get divorced.

Thanks for the concern.

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.
I do agree with what you say, about all babies should have access to the better formulas. But I don't like the idea that all formula's should be by prescription only.

It may cause moms to try to concoct their own formula's. While this can be safe if done correctly, what if it isn't? I would hate to see a baby get sick/die b/c a doctor wouldn't write a script b/c he wanted mom to continue BFing. Or if mom did not have money or insurance to see the doctor for a script. Women may do this b/c they do not have insurance, or crappy insurance. My co-pay is $40. Would a can of formula cost me $40 then? It would also cause insurance premiums to go up, and I think they are high enough!

Also... What happens at 0300 on Christmas Eve and the pharmacy is closed, and you run out of formula? Or the can accidentally spills all over the floor? Does baby have to wait until the pharmacy opens to get more formula? There is always a wal-mart or convienent store open somewhere if that were the case and it is not by prescription.

I like the idea that women get to make their own choices for their babies, provided they are feeding and taking care of their babies.

It would REALLY worry me if you could only get formula via a Dr prescription. A lot of people don't have insurance (like myself) and couldn't get or afford to go see a Dr. It just not going to work in the real world. Sure a lot of people grew up on homemade formula and are "just fine", but hello we all know it is certainly far below par and puts a child at risk for all sorts of things (siuckness, disease, etc). I do not want to see anyone being forced to mix up their own formula :(

Another thing that bothers me is there is a vast different between formulas on the market. Some are IMO pretty low quality, some are higher quality....I'm thinking the poorer moms are buying the cheaper stuff and those babies are getting even less in the way of the nutrition they seriously need.

Look at all the recalls I posted--no one even made a comment about that which worries me. Formula should NEVER have to be recalled because it has salmonella or broken pieces of glass in it!!!

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Look at all the recalls I posted--no one even made a comment about that which worries me. Formula should NEVER have to be recalled because it has salmonella or broken pieces of glass in it!!!

Look at all the other foods and drugs that are recalled. ANY pre-packaged food or other ingestible items are subject to contamination.

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Specializes in Pain Management.
Maybe this should have been posted in a "women's forum" for discussion since the men have a forum of their own. Clearly Josh has not sat down for 2 hours with a newborn and whipped it out and cried as it did not successfully work out only then to have some lactation specialist come into your room and throw your boob around and tell you that you will absolutely be able to do it, again when you can't.....making you feel terrible. I just think this is crap to be honest with you and I know how I felt as a diabetic mother whose child was given formula right out of the shoot and wouldn't take anything other than a rubber nipple after that. I think Josh needs to take a step out of the female zone until science allows men to have babies and breastfeed. Might I add, I don't smoke, don't drink and take my daughter to the gym as often as possible to see "mommy active" and how things are supposed to be. Pick your battles my friend.

The notion that a person has to have experienced the situation to comment on it is absolutely absurd, plus it would limit our abilities to interact with people from different "groups". We are talking about the decision making process and intent behind an action, not about the character of the person making the decision.

If you read my posts, you would realize that your previous experience has nothing to do with the motivation I was railing against. The fact that you do those healthy activities demonstrates that you are willing to prioritize those activities that you know to be healthy over those that are not. That is the point I was attempting to make.

If you are unable to do an action that is beneficial for you and/or your family, then you don't have a choice. If you are able to but choose not to do that action, then that is the problem. Obviously people can't always do the right thing every time (I missed my gym workout this morning for example), but continually choosing one option over another when you know [and can do] the healthier option can be objectively questioned.

The motivation of the action can be questioned by all, not just those in the group. The point of dialog is analyze the action (with the diversity of having multiple perspectives), but not the character of the individual. That would require knowledge that none of us are purvey to. But whenever people start discussing the motivation behind an action, it is possible for people to feel guilty for past actions, whether or not they correspond to the motivation. But that doesn't mean that we should ignore the topic.

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.
Look at all the other foods and drugs that are recalled. ANY pre-packaged food or other ingestible items are subject to contamination.

Absolutly.

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Specializes in ER, NICU, NSY and some other stuff.

:clown: HMMMM trying to remember the last time I saw a breast milk recall.........:lol2:

This was an attempt at humor...........

Another thing tothink about. I know that is is not uncommon in my state to frequently hear about boil water orders due to microbial contamination. Unfortunately you may already have ingested or your baby has ingested contamination before the order is given....Just something else to think about.

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