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I have written this in response to a comment over at FB:
BellyBelly Kelly | Facebook
Please don't think I am trying to "pathologise" anyone or anything, nor somehow trivialise or ridicule womens' choices in regards to infant feeding.
unfortunately I could not read the whole article that was linked to (Leaving Facebook... | Facebook), as I don't have subscription rights to Jstor... would have loved to read the whole article. Qing Dynasty was 17th-20th Century. My point about Han Dynasty was that the Chinese have been writing about these kinds of 'conditions' (please note my use of 'scare quote' notation) and how to help mothers and (just as importantly) their dependent infants.
Whilst the influence of Confucianism did make Chinese society and its official structures seemingly paternalistic, it wasn't the only dominant ideology throughout the rich history of this civilisation - Daoism and Buddhism in their various forms have also been hugely influential over Chinese society.
What's more, folk traditions have always been the cornerstone of CM practice. Whilst it has always been males in the spotlight of officialdom, there were always women in the villages and rural settings who used the CM principles of diagnosis and treatment to help their neighbours and loved ones. More often than not, it was this grass roots knowledge that was gathered and formally published within medical canons by the male physicians who were academics (medical schools and colleges were established very early) and usually Court-approved practitioners. Herbal medicine was not controlled, as all indigenous herbs were wild-growing or cultivated locally by farmers. Only imported medicinals in the form of spices/herbs were solely accessed by these academics and Court-approved physicians. A good book to read if you're interested in feminine history of Chinese Medicine is "A Flourishing Yin" (can't remember author).
The "crones and witches" (read: wise women) held the knowledge of what foods, herbs, teas, therapies could help mothers and their babies. But so too did many men in these settings - as they were village folk, they were not formally trained in Confucian ethics, principles, etc. They would have had a 'common/folk' understanding of what Confucian society expected of them, but Confucianism was very much a formal ideology that was taught in royal colleges, universities, to educate the higher classes destined to work in the Bureaucracy. The common folk did not generally have access to this level of education. But there were still no shortage of physicians - male or female - who worked to heal their neighbours.
The vast amount of medical texts we have today is born from a combination of grass-roots/folk medicine, the recording of clinical experience, and formal study and practice in formal institutions of medicine. What we have today in the form of Tradtional Chinese Medicine (as the 'brand' presented to the world by the PRC) is a syncretisation of ALL of this knowledge. And we haven't touched on the medical knowledge, practice, and ideas from all of Asia, where this paradigm of health and healing were practised. Hence why many practitioners and writers refer to East-Asian Medicine, Oriental Medicine, or simply Chinese medicine (to distinguish it from the official, practice of TCM. in fact, one could argue there is nothing 'traditional' about TCM, as it is a highly sanitised and Confucian mish-mash of the entire spectrum of health & healing traditions and practcies in Eastern Asia.
CM approaches to the inability to bf is always centred around finding methods/solutions to help mums and bubs survive and thrive in the face of such conditions. Do we assume companies like Nestle are being paternalistic in their production and marketing of formula - or are they offering a solution to all those mums out there unable to bf? As many mums have told their stories on this forum, it is clear that in these cases Formula was a viable option available to them - for many CM was not available, let alone an option.
As I finish up my clinical studies and head out into the big wide world, I want to know how I can best be of service to the community in this regard. I have no desire to control women, children, or demand obeisance to my opinions - professional or otherwise. I have some knowledge and some tools that may be of assistance in these situations. If they work, then I want families to know about it, and I would love the opportunity to help out.
In the stories I have read thus far - and thank you so much for sharing them here (this is a great forum to open up honestly about such matters) - it seems that a lot of the issues have been centred around support, stress, expectations, and access to information and/or services. I don't think this is news to anyone who frequents this forum. And to be fair I think everyone offers their knowledge, assistance, and treatments in good faith. I think there are always a variety of factors behind the inability to bf: the state of the mum, of the baby, of the support-systems, the knowledge/experience of practitioners, etc.
I instigated this conversation because I was curious to hear womens' own experiences, to ascertain whether a) I can help; and b) if I have that capacity, then how best to.
Please don't end the discussion here. Please continue to share your stories. I am genuinely reading and learning. I appreciate it, and can feel some of the hurt that exists there. i don't feel its helpful to criticise or accuse you women - you have done what anyone would do, and that is do your best at seeing the survival of your children. I applaud you!:clap:
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My 6 bubbas have all been b'fed, in thier own way... but 2 were probmatic....
#2 fed like a champ, but at 3 months weighed less then at birth... she was diagnosed, after we spent 3 days in hossy, as taking a full feed, but not digesting any of it, meaning they thought she literally wee'd/poo'd it straight out....app around 5% of babies can have this...
I REFUSED to stop b/feeding, so I was given a thickening formual on script, and gave her one bottle of that a day. I struggled but fed her till 1, I flately refused to give up, and would of tried anything.
#5 was a cleft lip/palate bub, and had no suction whatsoever. I again was determined he would get EBM... I ended up expressing for 10 months, my son having nothing bar breastmilk for 8 of those months... yes, I am proud of myself, and not ashamed to say it, LOL. But I did need medication to keep the supply up, which was part of the reason I stopped expressing. I didn't want him having the drugs in his system too long either....
I had tried a lot of natural ways to boost my supply, with little success...... Had I known about more ways to boost/ help naturally, I would DEFINATLY tried them... I might have expressed for longer too!!!!
ETA.. but I have to agree with many of the ladies here... I got NO help in this.. I was told in both cases to take them of the breast and use formula.... I had no support and was often asked why I bothered....Was I not so pig headed, and without my BB support, it could of been very different....
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I'm an interloper here, but reading out of interest in the subject. I just want to say thank you to those who've told their stories. I know so often it seems like a story of failure, but I think these stories also resound with dedication and love :hug:
I know sometimes it just can't be, but I'm really, deeply saddened by the way mothers are failed again and again, over and over when they can't get support to do something as fundamental as feed their babies.
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I had a breast reduction at 17 and another at 22. Obviously, I had a great deal of breast tissue removed. However, the surgeon who performed the second surgery stated that my milk ducts appeared intact and as I am STILL a D cup he hypothesized that I had enough breast tissue for an adequate supply. I don't know how good his theory is and I have not been able to confirm it or prove it wrong in any literature. My intention was to try to breast feed my babies.
After I gave birth to my DD she was placed on my breast for her first feed. She was small and had a poor sucking reflex. Her next feed, the midwife took one look at my scars and handed me a bottle of formula saying 'here, love, you'll need this'. Every midwife had a different opinion of whether I should try to breast feed or not, some simply refused to assist me as there was 'no point'. Ultimately, I left hospital thoroughly confused and ended up FF my baby. She is now 7, healthy and well.
Whilst I was pregnant with DS I educated myself on BF after reduction. I found a fabulous book (BF after reduction: Defining your own success) which I took to hospital with me and handed to any midwife who told me there was 'no point' attempting to BF. When my DS was 2 weeks old my supply could no longer keep up to his demand; he was unsettled, constantly on the breast where he showed frustration and his weight gain slowed markedly (a good friend is a MCHN and we weighed him every two days to ensure he was gaining weight). The issue was complicated by the fact that my son has serious renal problems and his urologist had made it clear that whilst he was very happy for me to attempt to BF it was vitally important that my son receive adequate fluids (be it breast milk or formula). I started comp-feeding at two weeks and continued BF to my goal of 12 weeks. My supply never increased markedly and the most I could ever express was about 15mls from each breast. I have never experienced 'let down'.
I did use herbs to try to increase my supply, from memory Fenugreek and something else and some sort of vile tasting tea??
I am pregnant again and intending to attempt BF with this baby. Research indicates that a mother who BF after reduction surgery will most likely have increased success with each subsequent baby due to recannalisation of the milk ducts. My GP has recommended that I try Motilium this time to increase my supply (I need to give this more research but I'm certainly open to the idea at this time). I would also take herbs again and even drink the tea!! I would be happy to give CM a go, although I don't know much about it and wouldn't know how to find a good practioner. I am realistic about my likely ability to BF without complementary FF - it probably won't happen. I believe that I am being realistic and to think that I will BF without comp feeding would be setting myself up for 'failure'. I am 'defining my own success' by setting goals which I believe are achievable for ME.
I do find that some women, and the occasional man, are judgmental about my inability to BF. I have been told that I 'just didn't try hard enough', that I am a 'bad mother', that I won't bond with my baby and one gem who told me that I was 'incredibly selfish' to have breast reduction surgery before I had my family. And as much as I would like to let all those things roll off my back without affecting me, the truth is that those comments make me feel sad, inadequate, frustrated and angry.
