In Mexico I met a wonderful La Leche League leader named Maura Sessin who lived in a very small village. Her specialty was getting babies back on the breast after they had been fed almost exclusively with formula and other substitutes. Desperate mothers came to her with babies who were doing very poorly on the milk substitute they were being fed. Because many families could not afford formula, unpasteurized milk, water of questionable quality and various other "food" powders were mixed to feed the hungry baby while the mother struggled more and more to establish an almost non-existent milk supply.
Maura had an incredible success rate with her mothers. She talked to the parents and explained that the effort would take their full cooperation. In addition, both parents had to agree that breastfeeding the baby would be their No. 1 priority. Maura asked them to pretend that the baby had just been born, and they were going back in time to start all over. Relatives or friends were called in to take care of the rest of the family and provide mother with nutritious food and lots of healthful liquids. Baby and mother were tucked into bed together.
When Maura began work with the baby, she picked him up, held him in the air at her eye level, and gave him a stern talking to: "Your mama is giving you the best chance in life with the best food on earth. We aren't having any more of this fooling around. I'm expecting you to do this and do this right." The baby opened his eyes wider and wider and listened to every word Maura said. She was convinced (and so was I) that the baby understood every single word. Invariably, the baby settled down and suckled the breast. Within days, there was another fully breastfed baby, with a happy, confident mother. Next to the mayor, Maura was the most important person in her village, and was an honored citizen for her work with babies.
-Sue Huml, IBCLC, excerpted from "Our Common Link," Midwifery Today Issue No. 32
Reprinted from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 1 Issue 39, Sep 24, 1999)
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