Not Everyone Can Breastfeed

I've been meaning to write this post for awhile.  Writing it is a reminder to be careful about the language I choose, especially when I am passionate about the subject.  By implying in my conversation that breast is best, I have not always been sensitive to moms who are unable to nurse.  I used to teach a mommy and me yoga class and at the end of the class, would encourage women to feel free to nurse their babies during sivasana.  The well-meaning intent was to encourage new moms, nervous about nursing in public, to feel free to nurse in my class. Little did I know that a mom in my class had hypoplastic breasts. "Feel free to feed your child" might have been more inclusive, she noted in a thoughtful email.

Her story...

I had a non-medicated birth of my 9lb, 8 oz lovely at a birthing center and had long planned to nurse my baby.  When he was not pooping at all, lost two pounds, when I pumped and got a half of a drop, I went to several lactation specialists.  On day six of my son's life, I learned the word HYPOPLASIA and that was what I was....unable to produce milk....  For me, nursing was not hard, it was biologically impossible.  This revelation was pretty devastating to this new mom, for sure.  My husband and I opted to use a SNS (supplemental nursing system) - that's right, I had to tape a tube to my breast, fill a container with "artificial milk" - the horror - and feed Sam through those tubes while he latched to my breast.  It was cumbersome and humiliating yet this system bought me time to get a milk supply....or not.  After pumping on the hour, taking at least four herbs, drinking water....my supply was still non-existent.   So, then I got drugs from Canada -  domperidone.  Well, my supply went from three drops up to 5 cc's (no kidding...).  After hundreds of dollars that we could not afford, we still worked with a lactation consultant and continued to pray that my milk ducts would kick out what my son needed.  Then when he was seven weeks old, my mom died.  So, here I am now in NY with this SNS and my replacement meds are stuck at the Canadian border and oh, I have to plan a funeral, greet literally 100's of mourners and then bury my mom.  The supplemental nursing system and thus breastfeeding, my husband and I decided, was not meant to be.  This decision was not the one I would have wanted but seeing my son healthy and having to tend to other needs was my new reality.

While most women are able to nurse their children, approximately 2-5% of the population is unable to breastfeed.  If you have a condition known as hypoplastic or under-developed breasts, you may find breastfeeding very challenging or may not be able to breastfeed.

Fellow breast-feeding mom Moxie provides some good information about Hypoplasia.  Moxie also refers readers to another site that has pictures of hypoplastic breasts and additional information. Please help spread the word.  As my fellow mom noted in her email, many women don't know they have hypoplasia until it is too late.  If you find out before you are pregnant or during pregnancy, you can take steps to help the situation before the baby is born.  And many thanks to the mom in my yoga class who taught me about hypoplasia and reminded me to choose my words with care.

Comments

[ktg]

in sally fallon's book "nourishing traditions" she has three different DIY formula recipes.

one is dairy-based, one is meat-based, and one is made from dried foods.

i heartily recommend these to anyone i know who is having problems breastfeeding either as a supplement or a replacement.

store-bought formula is virtually nutritionally bankrupt with cheap, hard-to-digest ingredients and highly-refined, overcooked proteins, fats, and sugars.

it is absolutely true that there are women that cannot or simply do not want to breast feed for many reasons and as a feminist, i believe first and foremost that women need to be supported in their decisions.

that being said, it is also her right and responsibility to be informed and to make the best decisions for her child.

[Melissa]

It was interesting for me to read about that lady, because I have the same issues, I used a SNS the first time and then the Lact-aid the last 2 times, its hard to not be normal, and its nice when others realize that we truly have put in the effort to do it and just couldn't, since it really is so misunderstood! Thanks for the post!

[Kat]

Thanks for the comment! I was amazed that while I've had some lactation training, I had never heard of hypoplasia before. And when looking for web resources when writing this blog, I didn't find a lot.