Our pediatrician came to see the babies at the hospital and then we first saw them in the office at 2wks of age, then 6 weeks, then I don’t remember. Has this changed? Why would it? A 2 wk check is vital for baby’s weight and general condition to be checked. 
I remember the OB wanting to see me at 6 weeks post partum and that was it (unless I wanted an IUD or something). She did ask how the BF was going and how I was in very general terms. I hope the 2 wk check up has not been done away due to insurance companies not wanting to pay for it. :eek:
I guess “gap” wasn’t the best word. (Although, I admit with some guilt that I haven’t seen any doctor at all since being released from the hospital after my c-section…uh…4 years ago. :smack:)
I suppose what I mean is it’s sort of an ambiguous time period, especially as breast feeding is concerned. I know lots of women don’t know who to call - the OB, because the breasts are part of her body? The pediatrician, because the milk goes into the baby (or doesn’t)? The lactation consultant because nursing is her thing?
There isn’t *one *person to go to. Latch problem? Call the lactation consultant. Mastitis? Call the OB. Slow weight gain? Call the pediatrician. And, of course, nearly any time you have three people with three different points of view, you’re going to get conflicting advice. It might be more helpful if these were addressed holistically - not acupuncture and herbs “holistic”, but as three symptoms of one problem, with one person responsible for the medical condition that is breastfeeding as it impacts the whole family. Makes me nostalgic for the G.P., it does! 
In terms of mama, I absolutely agree with you. But then again, if we want to get away from BF being something alien, wouldn’t it make more sense to have support at home (of other BF moms) or some kind of social network, instead of a medicalized one?
Perhaps, though, we should look at it like sex. Don’t start screaming. Most people can figure out what they like or don’t etc, but for those who can’t, there are sex therapists who can help (esp. couples) find middle ground or new approaches or whatever (never been so can’t say what STs do). Why not someone like that?
Supposedly LCs fill this role, but do they? Are they not doing enough community outreach (and home visits) or should that come under the auspices of community health nursing and nurses? (a well baby visit–which used to be fairly standard, but I’ve never heard of it for well, well babies. I’ve heard of it for premies or babies with special needs but not for normal newborns). If it’s going to be a doula, then I would like to see a certification program for said doula. That might be the best approach-help mama and baby out (the term LC just seems so focused on um, lactation. No lactation occurs in a vacuum. Or maybe a change of moniker needs to happen.)
But doula or LC or whoever, I still want baby checked by a pediatrician. Pure prejudice, perhaps, but I’m just not comfortable with baby not getting checked out at 2 weeks… any BF advice or support is only to the good, but someone needs to focus exclusively on baby.
Note to WhyNot–a change of moniker has been and is being bandied about in some areas of nursing. (that is, to no longer call people like me or future you, Registered Nurses. Losing the nurse part of it. Intriguing, IMO.)
My midwives came almost every day for the first two weeks to do home visits, and were available 24 hours in case of emergency or questions regarding me, breastfeeding, the kidlet, anything. I would love to see that level of care generally available. They did the weighing, checked my c-section scar, kept tabs on nursing, the whole bit. They also (at the clinic I went to) had a ‘one midwife to take care of the baby, one to take car of the mama’ policy for births.
Angels.
We are damn well going back there for our next kid. I’ll get on their waiting list now if I have to.
No, what I’m saying is that ideally your first pediatrician appointment would be before the baby is born - and the insurance company won’t pay for that - there isn’t a patient yet. But if you want to get the medical establishment involved in breastfeeding - its the job of the pediatrician to communicate health benefits to baby (your OB should also be mentioning the possible benefits to you). By the time baby arrives, its too late to make sure the pediatrician is onboard - you are down to hospital lactation consultants - who are uneven in quality.
There’s something we can all agree on! twitches
eleanorigby, now that you mention it, I do believe I took the babies back to the midwives for a 2 week checkup. As I said, memory fades, especially when, at the time, you were sleep deprived!
And I totally agree, LCs and doulas have knowledge and information they can share, but they are not doctors and shouldn’t be taking over that role. I completely loved our family doctor - she treated all of us, had breastfed her own baby, and was really in line with our whole philosophy. Of course, she had to go and leave the practice last year, and I still haven’t found anyone as good. :mad:
The peds who saw my babies in the hospital both told me to have them looked at within the next couple of days by their regular doctor, and then that doctor also advised a 2-week checkup.
I have not had any trouble with my insurance co. in that regard. Both my kids have had 2-week, 1-month, 3-month, and every 3 months after that up to 2 years, when they start spacing them out more. Never had a quibble from anyone. And I would think there would be push back from the medical community, wouldn’t there? Because you are right, it’s really important to make sure they are gaining weight properly.
I understood what you said. 
I agree with it. I did go while pregnant to see the pediatrician, but I didn’t have a problem with payment (I didn’t even submit it to my insurance IMS-I don’t think I was charged. The receptionist took me around the office and I met one of the peds briefly. This is NOT the same as a “consultation”, but the point I wanted to make is that perhaps something like this could be arranged with the individual dr’s office). I was shopping for a doctor for my kid. We didn’t discuss BF at all, but I got to see the office and how the staff deals with kids etc. I think I might be the exception here because not many moms I know did this.
Midwives also vary in quality (hell, so do OBs). It’s trite but true, but educating yourself and also “going with your gut” does seem the best method. Even if the situation is ideal, if you’re not comfortable with someone, it won’t be ideal for you.
Sorry, straying off topic…
Sarahfeena–I think the proscribed well baby and child visits are well defined and standard most places. And thank god. Although a friend’s grandchild is on public aid and has to wait 5 hours for a routine ped appt, the schedule is the same.
I don’t get the part in parenthesis. Why would it be more dangerous for the baby to share the same room as someone who only smokes outside than to share a living room with a chain smoker?
One of my brothers liked to feed from “inside” Mom’s breasts (he broke her breastbone at least twice ramming it, the bastich) and all wrapped up. The other one liked to have as much room as possible. This one’s son, the Nephew would freak out if he couldn’t move his hands freely (suprising the hell out of his maternal family, as both his mom and uncle had been “wrap-in” sucklers). This led to four completely different breastfeeding routines, two of them involving the same mother. Give me a couple months and I can report on The Niece
:eek: I think that’s an excellent example of a good reason to switch to formula! (And that’s after the first time, never mind the second.)
My lord. I would have switched immediately the first time.
How does that even happen?! And what does “breastfeeding from the INSIDE” mean? That sounds horrifying. I’ve been head-butted by babies many a time, but never hard enough to break bones. Good God.
He broke her sternum? I don’t think that is even possible for an infant to do. Most people break their sternum in car accidents. I knew someone who broke hers when she was thrown from a horse. Seems that requires a bit more force than a rooting baby.
Cracking ribs or breaking the sternum is (unfortunately) common when one has to have CPR. The chest compressions, if done too exuberantly, can do this. Or the pt may have a bone issue such as osteoporosis–which can occur in young people.
All that said, a baby breaking someone’s breast bone is one strong baby. I would tend to give said baby his way in most matters… :eek:
It’s more likely that mother has an underlying issue or perhaps has stretched the story a bit. (not saying anything about Nava’s SIL, but if someone feels compelled to use hyperbole such as this, perhaps that person would be better off with formula!)
I didn’t word that very well. While breastfeeding can help reduce the risk for a baby who is exposed to second hand smoke, the best thing is not to expose a baby to second hand smoke at all. And most people know that - it makes sense. What is not so intuitive or well known is that there is a higher incidence of SIDS among babies who share a bedroom with a mother who smokes - even if she doesn’t smoke in the bedroom or around the baby. As with most SIDS research, I believe it’s merely an observed correlation, without a certain mechanism identified, but I have heard the idea floated that smokers exhale relatively large amounts of carbon monoxide, even when not actively smoking. And of course bedroom sharing would be of particular concern since babies get SIDS while sleeping.
The broken sternum was detected years later, when it showed up as “hey, you have two scars in your sternum… one looks like it was rebroken… but you haven’t been in a car accident or anything, have you? there’s nothing in your history!”
From Mom’s description, the pain when it first happened was similar to when I had a broken rib (which, since it hadn’t moved, was basically a dull pain most of the time and a sharp pain when I happened to lean ahead in my chair and touch the edge of my desk). My broken rib also got detected in a routine Xray years later, “did you ever have a broken rib years ago? there’s nothing in your history.” “Uh, not that I know.” “Did you ever have pain in your ribs? lower right.” “Oh, yeah, four years ago, a dull pain most of the time and a sharp pain when I happened to lean ahead in my chair and touch the edge of my desk, but it went away by itself in a few weeks.” “:rolleyes: That was a broken rib. jots it down in my history”
Pre-Littlebro: no sternum pain.
After being buttheaded by the 18mo brat, one day: sudden sternum pain, which goes down to a dull pain lasting for weeks and making breastfeeding difficult. The pain finally goes away. Several months later, after more buttheading, more pain…
Now it’s part of her whole-body collection of pains and aches (she’s had arthrosis since her teens, which may somehow give her more fragile bones too).
This is the same bro who has the honor of being the only one of us (including cousins) to ever get slapped - when, at age 3, he tried to tumble our lunchtable on Dad in a rage. He actually managed to lift it quite a bit (we were all sitting around it); Dad’s hand reacted before the news had time to reach Dad’s brain and gave the little one a slap that healed him from trying to overturn tables forever 
Yes, he was quite strong.
Thanks for the explanation, Unauthorized Cinnamon, it makes sense like that.