Has anyone had a patient want to feed their baby UNPASTEURIZED GOAT MILK??? We had one just recently that brought this to the hospital in a cooler and kept it in her room and was feeding it to her baby. She is also pumping and will mix it with the goat milk for the first couple of weeks. I am not judging her or anything but babies/kids/adults have DIED from E-Coli from unpasteurized products.
Has anyone heard of this before? Had any other patients feeding their babies something "different?"
BTW the doctor talked to her and informed her of the risks but she continues the feedings.
People just don't seem to understand that newborns are not just little adults. An adult or even a child can tolerate a lot of things that newborns just can't. Feeding a newborn unpasteurized milk is just insane IMO.
People just don't seem to understand that newborns are not just little adults.
You can see that with some of the surprise new parents express when babies have an effect on their lives . . babies don't sleep through the night, babies need to eat every two hours or so, etc.
You can see that with some of the surprise new parents express when babies have an effect on their lives . . babies don't sleep through the night, babies need to eat every two hours or so, etc.
"You mean my life has to change?".
steph
True enough... I guess I'm so used to dealing with babies that it still surprises me that people don't know basic things about them (like don't give them honey!). I've always been around kids and babies, even before becoming a nurse.
I saw the goat milk thing many times when working with some members from the older, traditional religious communities--Amish, Mennonites, and Pennsylvania Dutch. If mom couldn't breastfeed, or didn't feel like she was producing milk, she's supplement with goats milk.
We didn't recommend it, we encouraged breastfeeding, heck we even encouraged wetnursing over giving unpasteurized goats milk. Lots of education was given. Know how many people's minds we changed? Zip. These people aren't stupid. They were making an educated choice. Not the choice I'd make. But one that reflected their values and traditions, I suppose.
BTW, goat milk is disgusting, I don't care who tries to say you can't tell the difference between goat and cow milk, I've tried goat milk every way possible, cold blasted, pasteurized, raw , tast tested and I can ALWAYS tell the difference.
I couldn't agree with you more, MM. A few decades ago I was "diagnosed" with several dozen allergies. It turns out that we (my family) fell victim to a true quack who diagnosed EVERYONE with the same diagnosis. I know that this is beside my point, but I still get a little peeved thinking about it. :angryfire
Anyhow, he insisted that everyone in the world is allergic to cow's milk and we should all be drinking goat milk. As Motorcycle Mama said, it is nasty, although this doctor said it tasted just like cow's milk. I still think about it today, and I can't get that "weed" taste off my mind. Ugh. Never again.
I do have a trainer who insists that everyone should be drinking unpasteurized cow's milk. I'm thinking, not no way, not no how, especially while pregnant, will I be drinking/eating anything unpasteurized. I know that the risk of listeria is relatively low, but why take the chance of potential stillbirth with something that is very easy to avoid?
No, but then relatively few moms feed their babies (or pump) in a barn. Feces, hay, other animals, and those who are doing the milking are all possible agents of contamination. Just because people with stronger immune systems haven't had any problems, that doesn't make unpasteurized milk safe for wee ones. Older kids and adults can probably fight off low amounts of bacteria. Newborns and infants are much more vulnerable. A good example of this is botulism in honey harming children under a year of age while it had no effect on those who were older.
Well, I know this is a very old conversation, but still, I had to comment. The idea that because things are different they are wrong is a problem. I do believe we were designed to breastfeed, and that she should be breastfeeding and not supplementing. Consider this though... many people carry so many contaminants it IS NOT even funny. Think of all the carriers of bacteria and viruses! People are probably nastier than those goats! Now, I believe a newborn baby is designed to take it's own HEALTHY mothers milk. The key word, healthy. As an adult, or even for an older child what is wrong with goat vs. cow? besides preference? Alot of what people feed their children, and I'm talking to all those who feed them little debbies, and food with hormones, antibiotics, processed foods, etc. you loose something that helped the immune system. To take it a step further, you also attack the immune system. Now, you may be avoiding a risk here, but in the long run if you had eaten right and exercised, you may have been better off taking a risk to benefit the whole body. If a true study were done, I believe you would find formula is not some magic mix but rather has lots of unseen disadvantages, while goats milk would prove to be a lot better that you give it credit for.. leveling the playing field. btw.. with all the weight problems, diabetic issues, and I could go on.. it just may be that the one person who is doing something different may be doing something right. I don't even drink goats milk! But I do believe in the most natural way.
Things worked well for you, and that's good. I doubt we'll be hearing from anyone for whom it was a problem.
and last... I bet if someone knew of an instance when goats milk was a problem, they would be opinionated enough to write about it.
Since you are very unlikely to change the parent's mind or practice I would be sure to document thoroughly the education done, parent's response, and that the parent continued to feed unpasteurized milk after education.
This may offer some protection for you and the institution if the infant develops problems.
True enough... I guess I'm so used to dealing with babies that it still surprises me that people don't know basic things about them (like don't give them honey!). I've always been around kids and babies, even before becoming a nurse.
fergus51
6,620 Posts
People just don't seem to understand that newborns are not just little adults. An adult or even a child can tolerate a lot of things that newborns just can't. Feeding a newborn unpasteurized milk is just insane IMO.