SENATE HEARING OR JUST POLITICAL THEATER OF THE ABSURD

“Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.”  Edmund Burke

This quote was used by John J Farmer III in his paper, “My 40 year history with Cronobacter/Enterobacter sakazakii—lessons learned, myths debunked, and recommendations.”  Believe it or not, the history of the now named Cronobacter is long and tragic with infants at high risk for this serious bacterial infection that is intrinsic to powdered infant formula.  This history appears to be forgotten or ignored by the US Congressional hearings. Ignoring the history of the research and recommendations by many research scientists, including the recommendation to breastfeed in order to avoid the serious problem of contamination of powdered infant formula is an ominous sign.

A Brief History from 2015-2022

“The powdered infant formula industry still cannot produce powdered formula that is free of bacterial contamination with Cronobacter, other Enterobacteriaceae, other pathogenic bacteria, and other microorganisms.  Until this happens, infants and others will be at risk of becoming infected when they ingest contaminated formula.”  John J. Farmer III, “My 40 year history with Cronobacter/Enterobacter sakazakii—lessons learned, myths debunked, and recommendations.”   2015 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2015.00084/full

“Cronobacter is ubiquitous, but it is profoundly linked with infant formula powders which are implicated in infant infections.  Intrinsic contamination reports are coming up frequently that indicates the product is not sterile.” GM Abebe, “Cronobacter sakazakii in Infant Food Contamination and Its Survival Strategies in Hostile Conditions.”  2020 https://clinmedjournals.org/articles/ijpr/international-journal-of-pediatric-research-ijpr-6-067.php

“Reporting illnesses helps health officials understand how disease occurs and to identify outbreaks.  Botulism, E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella, and Vibrio are all reportable diseases.  Cronobacter is not.  The main reason for this is that Cronobacter isn’t considered a threat to the general population.  Most adults don’t get sick from Cronobacter.  But babies do and the main vehicle of transmission is powdered infant formula.”  Carla Gillespie, “Minnesota Cronobacter Case Spurred Federal Investigation.”  https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2022/minnesota-cronobacter-case-spurred-federal-investigation/  2022

My impressions of the Congressional hearings on infant formula supply chain issues.

First, the focus of the hearings seemed to be only on supply chain issues not on the issue of babies sick and dying because a manufacturing plant disregarded hygienic standards. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Chair of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation made the following statement on the revelations of the Abbott whistleblower on Abbott’s behavior.

“…falsifying records, turning a blind eye to safety and product concerns, and retaliating against any employees who brought this to light.  It is not enough to simply focus on supply chain issues.”

I agree with her assessment.  Focusing only on supply chain issues, is in my opinion a great way to minimize the tragedy of babies dying and maimed by infant formula.  The reality that is staring at us, in which a lot of Congressional leaders are blind to, is that powdered infant formula is not a sterile product.  If the medical community and others state that parents should consult the label for safe preparation of powdered infant formula, then those labels need to be correct and safe.  In a previous blog post I have discussed the varied instructions on the safe preparation of infant formula of the FDA, CDC, WHO, infant formula companies, etc. Which instructions should a parent follow to protect their infant from Cronobacter? https://vwmcclain.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-scandal-of-cronobacter.html

The infant formula industry cannot produce powdered infant formula that is free of bacteria.  And there is only one state, Minnesota, which has made Cronobacter a reportable disease.  They call it a rare problem, yet it is not a reportable disease in 49 states.  So how rare is it among US infants?  

Who watched the Congressional hearings of the infant formula shortage?  It appeared from the data that I saw that only some 300-400 people watched the Senate hearings on C-SPAN.

I thought I’d share my thoughts and feelings as I watched the Senate hearings.  C-SPAN had video and print copies of the two hearings from Wednesday and Thursday of this week.  I was able to watch all of the Senate hearing yesterday.  I saw some videos of the House subcommittee meeting.  The testimony of the Abbott Labs President of US and Canadian Nutrition, Christopher Calamari was that, “the shortages were heartbreaking,”  “he was deeply sorry,” “and he was committed to it never happening again.”  His comments reminded me of the often used statements by politicians in response to mass gun violence, thoughts and prayers.  Apologies are not enough when babies die or are hospitalized due to a product that is supposed to be safe, just as thoughts and prayers are no longer enough in regard to gun violence.

Senate hearing just Political Theater of the Absurd          

 The first absurdity is that it appeared to me that most of the Senators blamed the FDA. The second absurdity is that Senator Burr seemed to be praising Abbott for their apology.  When a person gets in a car accident while drunk and kills a family, is just an apology acceptable?  Likewise a product that is advertised as a safe substitute for breastfeeding, killed innocent babies and hospitalized others. 

Meanwhile the FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Cardiff stated that the Abbott manufacturing plant was “egregiously unsanitary.” The third absurdity was Cardiff’s inability to explain why it took so long for the FDA to respond to the unsanitary conditions of the manufacturing plant. It seemed like everyone was passing the blame back and forth from Abbott to the FDA, from the FDA to Abbott.  Around and around never discussing real issues relevant to parents and grandparents regarding the safety of infant formula.  No one discussing how often in the past babies have died or maimed from bacterial contamination of powdered infant formula.  Instead it seemed like the concern was to convince the American public that “these products are safe,” that this was just a one-time occurrence.  Abbott had learned its lesson and apologized.  Yet researchers on this issue know that Cronobacter infections from powdered infant formula are not a one-time occurrence.  It will happen again and again, like the school mass shooting, because we live in a society governed by people who are unwilling to do what is necessary to protect the next generation.  A society that is unwilling to protect its young is essentially doomed.

The #4 absurdity--How quickly people forget  past cases of bacterial contamination of powdered infant formula.

The CDC discusses 4 cases of Cronobacter in 2011 in the USA.  Presumption was that there was only 4 cases but eventually believed to be 12 cases of Cronobacter.  How many cases that were unreported, since only one state in US required to report Cronobacter? And a decade later we still have only one state required to report this serious infection of infants with a 40-80% mortality rate.  https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2011/s1230_Cronobacter.html

Cronobacter isn’t the only bacteria to contaminate powdered infant formula.  In France in 2017 the company, Lactalis was found to have Salmonella in its manufacturing plant, causing a massive recall.  Contamination of Salmonella had previously occurred in 2005 to the same manufacturing facility with many infant deaths. https://www.foodwatch.org/en/news/2018/lactalis-the-scandals-within-the-scandal/?cookieLevel=not-set

Back to the Senate hearing: 

Senator Rand Paul, MD of Kentucky sweeps into the meeting.  He appears to be impatient, in a hurry to get his 5 minutes done.  He immediately states that since there is “no direct link of Cronobacter” in the manufacturing facility to the sick and dead babies, it means that Abbott’s infant formula was not the cause.  This is despite Dr. Robert Cardiff statement that despite the lack of evidence, “health agencies cannot rule it out either, calling the confluence of events ‘highly unusual.’  It appears that Senator Rand Paul had dismissed Cardiff’s statements on this issue, and appears to not know that powdered infant formula is not a sterile product (despite the fact that he is a doctor who graduated from Duke Medical School).

The scientist, John J. Farmer III, responsible in 1980 for the naming of Enterobacter sakazakii, which is now called Cronobacter, made the following statement in his 2015 paper.

“The existence of Cronobacter strains in the ‘viable but non-culturable state’ is a possible explanation for why a sample of powdered infant formula or other product can be tested and found ‘negative for Cronobacter contamination’ but is actually contaminated with Cronobacter.” https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2015.00084/full

Senator Rand Paul talked about the need for stockpiling infant formula, so this never happens again.  My impression is the only concern is that the shelves are empty of infant formula, and that is unacceptable.  He was not happy about the FDA closing the Abbott facility for so long, and seemed to think it was far too long.  One almost got the impression that he was more concerned about Abbott Labs than about safety.  He was not happy about the 17% tariffs imposed on formulas from Canada and Mexico.  He seemed to think the FDA’s concern about labels from other countries as ridiculous.  I wonder how parents who only speak and read English, read a label that is written in Spanish or French or German?  What about the instructions on safe preparation of formula? Oh yes I forgot US citizens don’t read, so reading instructions are unnecessary

One of the interesting things about US government agencies like the FDA (Reagan-Udall Foundation), CDC (CDC Foundation), NIH (NIH Foundation), etc is that they each have foundations which corporations can donate to.  Thus foundations pass that corporate money along to the agency for various programs.  The FDA has the Reagan-Udall Foundation, and corporations can support the FDA.  On the BOD of the Reagan-Udall Foundation is an employee of Nestle. https://reaganudall.org/about-us/board-directors/molly-fogarty

Does having a corporate employee of Nestle on the BOD of the FDA foundation influence the FDA?  Why was Nestle of Switzerland chosen in the first shipment flown to the USA by the US air force of specialty formulas?  Who is paying for the fuel used by the air force or the time of the pilots? Abbott? All US infant formula companies?  Or are we, the taxpayers paying for that flight? My guess is Abbott won’t be billed, it will probably be the taxpayer who ultimately foots the bill.

I found it interesting that one of the senators (I did not catch his name) made his very last comment about breastfeeding (a positive comment).  First and last time I heard the word, breastfeeding in the 2 ½ hour hearing. The stony look from Dr.Califf to this senator was remarkable, and somewhat amusing to me. Dr. Califf immediately changed the subject, with no response to the Senator’s comment about breastfeeding.

It appears that the FDA will probably get more money from Congress, because more money always solves problems (yes sarcasm).  But I wonder where they will get it from since we are sending the Ukraine $40 billion+ in bombs, bullets, and missiles? Oh yes they can just print more money.

As a breastfeeding advocate, I certainly believe that supply-chain issues need to be resolved.  But I also recognize that this desire to stockpile infant formula to safeguard supply-chain problems comes at a cost to breastfeeding.  What governmental agency will protect breastfeeding?  Historically, it has been recognized that bringing in a ton of infant formula in disaster situations jeopardizes breastfeeding.  It’s called the spillover effect.  Breastfeeding mothers are given free formula, and then their own milk supply diminishes (since the more a baby breastfeeds the more milk is produced) from the introduction of infant formula.  I would call what the US is facing in this situation is definitely a disaster.  And if policy is about overstocking this product, then it would seem likely that the infant formula industry will eventually have to get rid of their overstock.  What we will see is intense marketing/advertising of infant formula. Since the US appears oblivious to the WHO Code on Marketing of infant formula (despite Clinton signing on to it in 1994), we are more than likely to see breastfeeding plummet.

Derek Thompson writes in the Atlantic the article, “What’s Behind America’s Shocking Baby-Formula Shortage,”

“…uptick in births in early 2022 with a dramatic decline in rates of breastfeeding among new mothers.”

I am not sure that breastfeeding is declining, I’d like to see the data.  But certainly one thing is for sure and that is that until we make Cronobacter a reportable disease in every state, we will continue to have babies at risk for Cronobacter infections because of powdered infant formula.  The legislators talked about creating a system to monitor supplies of infant formula that would give an alert when supplies are low.  But equally important is making Cronobacter a reportable disease in every state.  And equally important is the value of encouraging, protecting, and promoting breastfeeding.  The value of breastfeeding is well understood by many infant feeding researchers, but obviously not well understood by many legislators.

Copyright 2022 Valerie W McClain

"SAVING LIVES, ONE MOTHER AND CHILD AT A TIME"

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won.  There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall.  Think of it—always.” –Mahatma Gandhi

My southern magnolia tree stands proudly, majestically, blossoming in the backyard.  It has weathered many hurricanes and yet still stands strong against the stormy winds. The strength of that magnolia reminds me of some women I have met in my life.  They stand proudly, strong against adversity, fierce in their determination to right a wrong or to protect those who are not capable of protecting themselves.  It is akin to the mother bear instinct to protect her babies, only in some women that instinct extends beyond their own babies.

I recently met online a human rights advocate, Magdalena Whoolery, who agreed to an interview.  She is Dutch-Indonesian, who grew up in the UK.  Magdalena is a wife and mother of 4 children. She is also a Registered Nurse with a PhD in Health Studies from Brunel University. In the UK she worked with multi-drug-resistant TB patients who were homeless.  She coined the term, survivalising to describe how TB patients coped with their disease and homelessness.

Magdalena has lived in various countries: the UK, Pakistan, China, Botswana.   She has worked for various organizations (UNICEF, WHO) and has been involved in disaster relief/emergency situations: 2004 tsunami disaster in Indonesia, Jwaneng Squatter Camps in Botswana, displaced camps in Timor-Leste of Timor. Magdalena is a member of IBFAN (International Baby Food Action Network) and a strong supporter of the WHO/UNICEF Code for Marketing Breast-Milk Substitutes.

The Botho Compassion Movement, “I am because you are."

Magdalena and her family moved to Botswana in 2012. In 2013 she founded the Botho Compassion Movement and later would establish La Leche League. Botswana at that time had no breastfeeding support groups. The Compassion Movement is founded on the principle that, “…compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves.”  Or as Magdalena said quite simply to me, “I am because you are.” 

Jwaneng Squatter Camps in Botswana

Botswana is located in Africa with South Africa on its southern border with the countries, Namibia and Zimbabwe on its west and east borders. It is home to the richest diamond mines in the world.  Jwaneng is a mining town with squatter camps scattered throughout the area.  Men, women and children in these camps are homeless, living in many cases without access to shelter, sleeping on the ground, living in the bush.  Food and water is scarce, with no running water for bathing.  It is a difficult way to live for adults, but in many cases life threatening for babies and children. Babies are often bottle-fed, in an environment in which one cannot wash bottles easily, nor refrigerate anything.

The threat of being chased out of the encampments by city officials is always present. Magdalena and members of the Botho Compassion Group decided to help by bringing food and water to the encampments.  In a newspaper article dated April 28, 2016 of the  Botswana Gazette in which the situation of squatter camps was written about, Magdalena is interviewed and states,  “…as a nurse of over 15 years and having worked with homeless people specifically, I can honestly say I  have not seen such severe cases of malnutrition.” 

In my conversation with Magdalena she spoke of a Catholic priest who had worked with the Botho Compassionate Group. One day he called her on the phone, and described a situation of trying to help a mother from the camps whose 4 month-old, bottle-fed baby boy who was very sick. The priest told the mother to go to a clinic to get help.  The clinic would not help her because she had no ID, health card, or Birth Certificate.  He suggested another clinic, and the same response from the clinic—no help.  She went to a third clinic and they did help by giving her 2 packets of Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS). This solution must be mixed with clean water.  The mother went to the water faucet at the clinic, and was told she could not use the water at the clinic. Homelessness is often stigmatized (not just in Botswana but in the US too) and often out of ignorance of the conditions of homelessness help is not helpful. Later, in the bush they found the baby dead beside 2 packets of ORS.  The priest told Magdalena this because he had another baby he was worried about. 

The Botho Group got a medical team together to provide immediate medical care.  They determined that the homeless needed access to health care; and without IDs, health cards, or birth certificates, they could not access that care.  They got a team together and began to register the homeless so that they could access health care.

Meeting Dr. Hussein Tarimo, breastfeeding advocate

Meanwhile, Magdalena organized a meeting with UN staff members to discuss the situation of the homeless in the squatter camps.  One of the members of the UN staff said to her that she needed to speak to Hussein Tarimo from the Ministry of Health-Botswana, “Nestle keeps asking me when he is going to retire.” He was the co-ordinator of the IBFAN Africa Codex Group, and helped with implementation of the WHO Code.  He was very aware of the conflict of interests (COI) that happen when giant food companies get involved with regulations of their industry.

He discussed with Magdalena the situation of Nestle and its influence in Botswana.  He told her about the situation in Botswana in 2006, in which 500 infants died.  It is believed that the true extent of infant morbidity and mortality are unknown because many were not able to access hospital facilities. 

“..in just 12 health districts [in Botswana], 22,500 babies had diarrhea and 470 died…the main risk factors for death were not being breastfed…”  Gabrielle Palmer—“The Politics of Breastfeeding:  When Breasts are Bad for Business,” pg106

During this time in 2006, concerns about HIV/AIDS epidemic had created a standard of care that not only provided antiretroviral drugs but infant formula to HIV-positive mothers.  But moms were not given enough formula for their babies needs. Malnutrition became common in formula-fed infants. What also happened was that HIV-negative moms because of the promotion of infant formula began using formula rather than breastfeeding.  This is called the spillover effect.  This spillover effect is also common in other emergency situations, when free infant formula is given out, destroying breastfeeding. Then the free supplies disappear after the crisis passes.  A mother’s breastmilk supply is gone, but free infant formula is no longer available.  Unknown to many mothers and health care professionals is that a mother’s milk supply can be brought back into full production through relactation.

The major cause of infant mortality in Botswana is diarrhea.

Diarrhea is a major cause of infant mortality around the world with 1.5 million infants dying.  Diarrhea often causes dehydration in babies. Infant formula or cow’s milk have a high solute loads which can cause rapid dehydration.  Breastmilk does not have a high solute load. And babies will often continue to breastfeed for comfort, when ill.

 

Nestle in Botswana

Mr. Tarimo discussed with Magdalena the Nestle situation in Botswana.  Their aggressive marketing practices were undermining breastfeeding.  It was violating Botswana laws for Marketing Foods for Infants and Young Children as well as the WHO Code.  One of the issues was that Nestle South Africa had a 300-page manual designed to “guide staff and distributors on how to breach Botswana law” on the marketing of breast-milk substitutes.

Another major concern was Professor Gabriel Anabwani, the Executive Director of Baylor Children’s Clinic who was also employed by Nestle Nutrition Institute.  The Botswana Ministry of Health was calling for his resignation for his conflict of interest.  

In 2015 the Botswana Gazette wrote that Nestle had a Doctors Dinner, “claiming to increase awareness of breastfeeding and their products.”  Breastfeeding information from an infant formula company whose business is to sell more infant formula is questionable ethically, particularly when directed at the medical profession who may influence many mothers with slanted information.  

In July of 2017, The Botswana Gazette stated that the Botswana Ministry of Health had declined to comment on Nestle’s involvement with health care professionals. Is it surprising that the newspaper appears to no longer be interested in investigating this scandal? 

Lo and behold it appears that the Botswana Gazette has a paid partnership with Nestle (Nespresso Coffee Machine is one of their products).  

MAGDALENA’S CONTINUED BREASTFEEDING ADVOCACY

Magdalena helped develop a National Breastfeeding Initiative in Botswana.  She helped amend the IYCF (Infant & Young Child Feeding) Policy so that it included skin-to-skin contact with no mother/baby separation, and included mother-to-mother breastfeeding support.  She is still involved with breastfeeding advocacy and support, despite the many obstacles that stand in the way of such advocacy. 

I remember the first conversation I had with Magdalena and she said what was important to her, “Saving lives, one mother and child at a time.”  I think it is in those seemingly small steps that we can make a difference in our communities.  I think it is the ripple effect, throw a pebble into the water and watch how that action ripples across the water. I am grateful for all her work in promoting, supporting breastfeeding.  Her strength, compassion, and kindness shines through, like the magnolia tree that flowers in the spring yet stands tall against the hurricanes in life.

Copyright 2022 Valerie W McClain

A tribute from Baby Milk Action to Hussein Tarimo who died September 28, 2021

https://www.babymilkaction.org/archives/32206

INFANT FORMULA OUT-OF-STOCK, BREASTFEEDING BAD FOR BUSINESS

 

“If a multinational company developed a product that was a nutritionally balanced and delicious food, a wonder drug that both prevented and treated disease, cost almost nothing to produce and could be delivered in quantities controlled by consumers’ needs, the announcement of this find would send its shares rocketing to the top of the stock market.”—Gabrielle Palmer, The Politics of Breastfeeding:  When Breasts Are Bad For Business.

Out-of-stock?  Infant formula?  Our nation-wide infant formula out-of-stock percentage  reached 43% this month? How can that be?  Sounds to me like an enormous failure of a capitalistic society.  And we all know that the price of infant formula will sky rocket once they clean up the factory that was shut down due to Cronobacter sakazakii contamination.  According to The Washington Post article, Abbott’s factory in Sturgis, Michigan was inspected by the FDA, and had a number of deficiencies with months away from production.

“The FDA, however, says it is still investigating the facility.  Among the deficiencies it found were water leaks and standing water on the floor, workers not wearing appropriate protective gear and a number of swabs in the facility that tested positive for cronobacter sakazakii bacteria, according to the FDA report.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/baby-formula-factory-says-it-e2-80-99s-still-months-away-from-production/ar-AAXgysL

Parents need to feed their babies, but many people on social media seem to not realize that one of the reasons for this out-of-stock situation is because 2 babies died and 2 were sickened by Cronobacter sakazakii (and there may have been more infants that got sick or died because it is not a reportable disease in 49 states). I would think that parents would not want this manufacturing plant to resume production unless the problems have been resolved.  Cronobacter sakazakii infections can cause meningitis, necrotizing enterocolitis, and septicemia in infants.  These are serious infections, and in some infants deadly.  

I read an article in USA Today that stated that parents could contact infant formula manufacturers requesting infant formula.

“#1 Shop beyond the grocery store.  If all else fails, you can also order infant formula directly from the manufacturer.  Most manufacturers seem to have a full stock and can even offer discounts on subscription orders, to ensure you never run out.”

So if manufacturers can sell infant formula thru subscriptions to ensure the parent never runs out, then how much formula are they holding back in their warehouses.  Oh yes, don’t ask that question because that might get people asking too many questions.  Or did the author get this information wrong?

Note that at the beginning of this article is a statement, “Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission.”

It’s capitalism, baby!  The article seems to have a financial motive, how odd?   

“#5 Give breastmilk a try”   And that has a link to HMBANA, the non-profit milk banking system.  Hm… but they don’t tell readers that mothers need a prescription from a doctor to get donor milk.  Donor milk is expensive($4.50-$5.50/ounce pre-pandemic price).  Now what if a mom doesn’t have health insurance?  How much does a visit to a doctor cost-probably way over $100 per visit.  Then let’s see a baby drinks somewhere around 18-25 ounces in 24 hours, depending on weight and age of the infant-about $90-$125/day if infant is a young baby and the price is $5/ounce.  Have to be pretty wealthy to buy breastmilk from a non-profit milk bank, and it gets even more expensive from for- profit milk banks. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/reviewed/2022/05/11/baby-formula-shortage-tips/9734580002/

Why is breastfeeding seemingly a dirty word, unmentionable in US society?

I hope my dear readers can explain to me why breastfeeding has become so invisible and that pumping and/or human milk are supposed to mean the same thing as breastfeeding?  Well let’s get back to capitalism in all its glory.  We value anything that makes money.  Breastfeeding doesn’t make anyone rich, other than the richness of human survival.  Mothers pass on to the next generation their rightful inheritance of survival through a perfect food, disease-resistance, and lots of skin-to-skin contact.  I think it’s the essence of our humanity.  We see it in art, beautiful paintings of mothers breastfeeding babies.  Now we have our pictures, but it's of babies by themselves, self-feeding at an early age.  I look at those pictures and feel the lonliness.

We are becoming a society that ignores a mother’s gift of breastfeeding to her children.  Instead we live in a society that separates mothers and babies without thought or care.  And believes that breast pumps and rooms to pump breast milk are the only solution to a new mother’s employment problems.   Other countries give mothers paid leave after their babies are born.  Or some innovative companies let mothers bring their babies to work for the first 6 months.  But this country chooses to spend its monies on its war industry, sending billions of dollars in guns, tanks, and missiles to other countries, while spending zero dollars to help mothers and babies.  Are we investing in the survival of our future? Or is the investment in the destruction of our planet and its people.

Mentioning breastfeeding or relactation (bringing back a milk supply after untimely weaning) as a possible solution to this out-of-stock infant formula situation has had the expected response from the media.  From that’s impossible to suggestions that mentioning breastfeeding makes formula feeding mothers feel bad.  Well, for mom’s who are pregnant and in their 3^rd trimester or formula feeding mothers interested in trying or returning to breastfeeding, it may be a solution to scarcity of infant formula for infants. 

Relactation

For moms who have weaned their babies from the breast or for moms who have only formula-fed, they need to know that relactation is possible.  A mother can bring back a milk production after quitting, if she can get her baby back to the breast.  I relactated and I was lucky that I had a baby that went back and forth from the breast to the bottle. This was in 1982 before I realized babies can be cup fed.   Mothers can use cups rather than bottles, since one never knows whether a baby will easily transition to the breast from a bottle.  Some babies do, but some babies have great difficulty. I did not have a breast pump or any other gadgets that are now recommended.  And think that if I had had to pump or use a nursing supplementer, I would probably have not succeeded at relactation.  But then I am not a gadget person, and don’t like spending my time pumping or hand expressing or figuring out a nursing supplementer.  And having to clean all those things, would not have appealed to me, besides making up infant formula/sterilizing bottles.  Luckily I had never seen a breast pump in 1982 (although they had pumps then) and I don’t think they had nursing supplementers back then or I had never seen one.

I did not initiate relactation when my baby was hungry.  A hungry baby, just like a hungry adult, will find learning a new skill difficult.  I gave her some of her bottle, and then put her to my breast.  She latched on right away. She never took a pacifier, it always went flying across the room.   So I think that not sucking on a pacifier, made her more interested in getting her sucking needs met at the breast.  Gradually over the days I lowered the amount of infant formula and increased the amount of times I breastfed in a day as well as the length of time of each breastfeeding session. Eventually, I went back to exclusively breastfeeding her—no infant formula.  Many relactation pamphlets I have seen, seem unduly pessimistic about fully relactating. And the first thing stated is the need to pump.  Certainly pumping will bring in a milk supply quickly in the beginning, but spending nursing time is more vital than pumping (yes my opinion because of my experience).

Moms need to know how milk is produced, that nipple stimulation through breastfeeding or hand expression or pumps is important. Priority should be getting the baby to the breast as often as possible.  And moms can also hand express or pump, and use a cup to feed the baby her milk, unless they can’t manage it all. Pumps aren’t a necessity, confidence in your body, understanding and support from family or friends are far more important.

Mothers who are employed and have new babies may have to go back to work as soon as 2 weeks postpartum.  All the problems in breastfeeding usually occur in the first 6 weeks postpartum: sore nipples, breast infections, concerns about baby’s weight gain.  Going back so early, usually means the demise of breastfeeding, because how do you fix those problems if they happen and get ready to go back to work?  Is this a mother’s failure?  No it is a society’s failure to protect a new mother and her baby by giving her paid leave. 

There are many books, research literature, and people knowledgeable about breastfeeding.  Read as much as you can, and find people who are supportive, and who will listen to your particular needs.  And don’t expect one book or one piece of research or one person to be the only answer.  Life is complex, keep searching and asking questions.  Find positive people in your life, who recognize that there are a variety of ways to accomplish a goal.  And what may be logical for one person is not necessarily the truth for someone else.  Peace and love.  Email me, if you want more information on relactation or support for breastfeeding.  valeriewmcclain@gmail.com

Copyright 2022 Valerie W. McClain