Hi,
I have been for a growth scan today at 28 weeks and seen the diabetes team. I was given a leaflet on induction which also had some information on the importance of breastfeeding. The leaflet went onto say that formula milk containing cow's milk should be avoided for the baby before 6 months as it can trigger diabetes in babies and if the mother or father of the baby has diabetes their babies are more at risk. Does anyone have anymore information on this or the studies that have been done? I am intending on breastfeeding but know how difficult I found it with my daughter and am now panicking abou this advice in case for any reason I struggle again. Any advice would be appreciated.
Yes that's very similar to my experience. I also felt slightly hypo/faint from the tiredness even though I wasn't diabetic then.I breast fed my now teen, not as first ( she had to delivered 7 weeks early) but then only for a short time after, when we got home, she kept falling asleep as soon as she latched on and it took hours, so, hypo's for me, extreme tiredness and not feeling too good at times. She was topped up on a bottle, then it was all bottle, she is 16 now and hopefully she will not be affected by diabetes.
yes that's true, but some babies simply aren't strong enough to suck for long enough to increase the milk supply. My son started to give up as soon as he latched on because it was just too difficult for him. I settled with letting him have what milk I had (probably about an ounce per feed) and then topping up with bottle figuring that whatever I could give him myself was better than nothing.Breast milk production works on a feedback mechanism of supply and demand. If you add supplementary feeds the demand goes down and so does production. The trick to successful breastfeeding is 'any time, any place' - breastfed babies do not tend to have routines, you cannot rely on a 4 hour gap, or a 3 hour gap, any gap at all.
I hope this is relevant and allowed, if not please delete.
If you can, see if there is a branch of NCT near to you. Their breast feeding counsellors will be people who have experienced successful breast feeding themselves and know the tricks. For virtually every mother, the first few weeks of breast feeding are very difficult, baby not knowing how to latch on, mother getting stressed / distressed. Breast milk production works on a feedback mechanism of supply and demand. If you add supplementary feeds the demand goes down and so does production. The trick to successful breastfeeding is 'any time, any place' - breastfed babies do not tend to have routines, you cannot rely on a 4 hour gap, or a 3 hour gap, any gap at all. During periods of growth spurts etc, demand goes up, the key to managing this is to feed on demand, make sure you get plenty of fluids and sufficient rest.
If you are feeding very frequently, which is the norm in the early days, you will be told by inexperienced people that 'you do not have enough milk'. I was told by an ill-informed midwife that my first baby, 9lb 2ozs at birth, was 'starving to death'. If she hadn't been followed on the next shift by a lovely old Irish sister, who never left my side all night after I'd tearfully asked for a bottle of formula, I would not have succeeded in feeding that baby or his siblings.
My best advice, once breast feeding is established, is discover when you have plenty of milk (for me it was first thing in a morning) and fill a bottle of milk by breast pump for when you have little (for me that was early evening) to supplement with. But in the early days and weeks try to solely breast feed as the required action for a baby to successfully breast feed (with the whole of the nipple in the mouth and a chewing action) is entirely different to bottle feeding, just achieved by squeezing the teat between the tongue and roof of the mouth.
37 years ago I was determined to fully breast feed but got such hopeless advice from midwives I almost failed. My eldest son had a few supplementary feeds whilst still in hospital and he went on to develop eczema then asthma. I was determined to fully breast feed the next two, and they had no cows milk till after 12 months old and they also developed eczema and asthma. So whatever happens, don't blame yourself for the outcome, you can only do your best.
The best resource, all those years ago, was a book by Drs Andrew and Penny Stanway, called Breast is Best. It's advice is top notch. I managed to buy a second hand copy on Amazon for my daughter in law.
If she has finished with it (she is currently expecting her third baby and having fully breast fed the other two, I think it may be sitting on a bookshelf somewhere) I will pm you and if you like, I will post it to you. We won't see her till late April.
Good luck with everything and most importantly, don't beat yourself up.
The thing is we all know breastfeeding is best, for lots of reasons, but not everyone can. The most important thing is that the babe doesn't get dehydrated through not getting enough liquid. My first was born 10 weeks early and although I tried to wholly feed him myself I just couldn't. He did get some of my milk at every feed for 4 months but I had to top up with bottle. He developed asthma and ear infections. Was this because of using formula? Maybe, but the alternative doesn't bear thinking about.
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/pa...e/news-story/ba33da2da3ca17ae1ee5d5754bf568b1
Yes breast is best, but bottle is OK too.
If the original leaflet meant baby milk formula then there can be no truth in it - as there could have been very few babies in my own and the following generations who were not given it at some time. There should be an epidemic of diabetes in the entire population over 40 - but even though there was a lot of blame-gaming by the midwives and other advisers they hadn't thought of 'not breastfeeding will cause diabetes' back then.
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