Supplement or Breastmilk

Deciding to supplement or feed breastmilk exclusively can be a difficult and tricky decision. The purists will tell you that only breastmilk will do. It can often be so hard to find the information you need, that you will end up giving up breastfeeding completely if you attempt to supplement.

The bottom line is that you must decide for yourself and that decision is best made with as much information as you can muster.

The following is a table of the pros and cons of supplementing and exclusively feeding breastmilk:

______________________________________________________________________________
             |Pro                    |Con
_____________|_______________________|______________________________________
Breastmilk   |Savings of money       |Time and difficulty of pumping
             |Continued immunities   |Possible lack of privacy at work
             |Nutritional needs of   |Lack of support at work
             |baby                   |
             |Easier to keep up      |Pump is inneficient and might not
             |supply                 |provide enough for baby's needs
             |Feeling of closeness   |Might make you miss baby more.
             |to baby at work        |
             |                       |Cost of pumping equipment.
_____________|_______________________|______________________________________
Formula      |Save money on equipment|Time to mix bottles, boil water, etc
             |No pumping at work     |Decrease in overall supply
             |No hassle about breaks |Possible mastitis from not emptying
             |                       |breasts
             |No privacy issues      |fewer immunities to baby
             |Might miss baby less   |Formula smells
             |                       |Less support for this type of nursing
	     |                       |Cost of formula 
_____________|_______________________|______________________________________

If anyone thinks of any others mail me.

Just like with exclusively feeding breastmilk, some people have no problems with feeding formula during the day. I know of a few women who have breastfed at home and given formula while the child is at work. They had no problems keeping up their milk supply and only had occasional bouts of mastitis. There is no hard evidence that supplementing at work WILL cause mastitis either. The chances might be higher.

As for support, I suggest you contact the local LaLache League regardless of which way you go. Attend a couple of meetings before the child is born and get a feel for the group. Let them know right away if you are planning on supplementing while at work and get a feel for whether they will support you. Each LLL group has its own personality and bias. Your local group might not be really supportive of supplementing while at work. Or they might be all stay-at-home moms who don't support working mothers well. If you don't fit into your local LLL chapter, see about another close by. The support is tremendous when you have a good chapter for you.

Supplementing

A few things to think about when you are planning on supplementing with formula.

• Try to stay at home as long as you can. The longer you exclusively breastfeed, the easier it will be to regulate your supply when you return to work. The first 6 weeks are extremely important in establishing the milk supply.
• Consider renting a pump or borrowing or buying a pump for the first few weeks back at work. You can minimize the discomfort of partially weaning your child by pumping off the excess milk when you feel engorged.
• Talk to your doctor about which formula to feed and try that before returning to work. With all the stress around returning to work, adding a formula allergy or intollerance to the measure will really ruin your experience.
• Leave bottle feeding to someone else. Let your baby know you as the breast lady. This will avoid any confusion.
• Choose your nipple carefully. Don't go out and buy a bunch of one type of bottles until you know the nipple and system work for your baby. For most babies, the best bet is a tight nipple; One that produces the smallest flow. Some babies will refuse a bottle due to too slow a flow, some due to too much flow. Each child is different. Some children (as with mine) will refuse the breast if the bottle nipple is too fast. So start with the slowest nipple and work up. There is one bottle maker that makes an adjustable nipple. Depending on how you hold the bottle, the flow is either fast, medium, or slow.

Feeding Only Breastmilk

If you choose to feed only breastmilk, there are some things to consider. You need to begin planning your return to work from the time your baby is born. Unlike mothers who supplement with formula or who stay at home to nurse full time, you need to be an OVER producer of milk. This is because the pump is so much less efficient than the baby. You will not pump as much as your baby takes in unless you are renting the super-heavy-duty hospital pumps that make the lights dim. Even with those, some mothers do not respond well. Here are some tips for working and pumping.

• Try to stay at home as long as you can. The longer you exclusively breastfeed, the easier it will be to regulate your supply when you return to work. The first 6 weeks are extremely important in establishing the milk supply.
• If you can borrow or rent a pump from someone before buying it to try it, do so. (sterilize it carefully before use).
• Double pumps are a real time saver which is important when you return to work. Read Buying a Pump for more information.
• Have someone else try baby on a bottle before returning to work. If there is a problem with refusal, it is best to deal with it as soon as possible. However, be careful not to introduce the bottle too soon. Studies show best results between 3 and 6 weeks.
• Talk to a lactation consultant about how to prepare by pumping before hand. Read Preparing for Work for more information.
• Talk to the doctor about what formula to use as a backup. Sometimes you will not be able to supply all of his/her needs. Pumps are much less efficient than baby.
• Do not use a pacifier if you can help it. As a pumping and working breastfeeder, you need to be an OVER producer. Many moms are not on their first baby. Any sucking a child can do on the breast encourages milk production. You may leak, but that is a much smaller problem than not producing enough milk for your baby when you return to work.
• Do not supplement. Give the baby a test bottle between 3 and 6 weeks and an occasional bottle from there until the time you return just to make sure he/she will not refuse. However, if you give bottles too frequently, you will not be an over producer.

Send me feedback.

Member of GeoCities Wellesley community.

Click here for the Internet's Number One Music Store.