Big Obstacles to Nursing

The obstacles are greater than you may have imagined. The methods in modern hospitals especially hinder nursing. A new mother routinely is given shots of hormones to dry up her milk supply. Even when she is able to avoid these, she may have overwhelming obstacles.

During childbirth, for example, a mother often receives large amounts of anesthesia, putting her in an unconscious or drugged state. The drugs affect the baby too, making it dull and sluggish for days. Thus it sucks poorly, and since it is the sucking that stimulates milk production, this production is hindered.

Also, the baby is usually taken away from the mother and kept in a central nursery. Since it is extra work to bring the baby to its mother for frequent feedings, nurses may give supplementary bottle feedings. As a result, the baby is not hungry and so fails to suck the breast vigorously, hindering further the mother’s milk production. It is no wonder that she may in discouragement give up trying to nurse.

Recently, in a letter to the publishers of Awake! one mother explained: “Breast-feeding my son brought on all sorts of uncomfortable feelings with my doctor, nurses in the hospital, relatives and friends. All these people acted at times as though I was repulsive for doing a very natural thing. My doctor was against breast-feeding from the beginning, and the nurses in the hospital weren’t any help with their rigid schedule.”

Such experiences are common. In fact, Dr. Jean Mayer, professor of nutrition at Harvard University, admitted: “In male-dominated hospitals, breast feeding is officially discouraged.”

Overcoming Obstacles

In the hospital a mother can kindly but firmly make known her desire to nurse. She can request that ‘dry up’ shots not be given her. Perhaps she will also be permitted to nurse on the delivery table, since this aids in stimulation of milk production. It might be arranged, too, that her baby only be breast-fed, with no bottle-feedings by the hospital staff.

There is no need for the mother to fear that she will not have sufficient milk for her baby. Even if she has received ‘dry up’ shots, and proper nursing has been impossible in the hospital, persistent sucking by the infant will soon establish sufficient milk production.