We all know that there is no better food for a baby than breastfeeding during its first months. However, although our interest is to give the best to our children, sometimes for some reason things do not go well and we must seek alternatives or make other decisions.
When it comes to the health and well-being of our children we must take it with all the seriousness it deserves. If something about you as a mother alerts you or tells you that things are not right, you should listen to your instinct and trust you. Today, a mother tells the story of her baby who died from dehydration (something very rare and unusual), because of not knowing the symptoms and sticking to the advice of others.
Five years ago, Jillian Johnson became the mother of a baby named Landon. She and her husband looked forward to her arrival and had prepared to give her the best. They had attended prenatal classes, bought and read all the maternity books that had been possible. They did what was in their hands to be ready when their baby was born, and they felt ready. But For more books, websites, blogs or medical articles we read about motherhood, this is a way where it is usual for things to take us by surprise and unpredictable situations arise.
When Landon was born, breastfeeding did not turn out as expected and he died a few days later. Five years later, his mother was armed with courage to tell the story of her little son, the one he had left for later for fear of being judged and for the terrible pain it causes.
In a post he posted on the website Fed is best (Fed is better), she tells her experience from pregnancy to Landon's death.
Your baby was born in a "baby friendly" hospital, that is, a hospital that promotes breastfeeding and does not allow the use of formula unless it is by medical prescription because of a serious illness or disability that does not allow breastfeeding.
After her son was born by emergency caesarean section, she fed her child exclusively breastfeeding:
"Landon was in my chest - ALL THE TIME. Lactation consultants came in and saw that 'he had a good grip and was doing well' but there were one of them who mentioned that I could have a problem producing milk. The reason he gave me was that I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome and it was simply more difficult for women with a hormonal imbalance to produce milk. She recommended some herbs to take me when I left the hospital"writes Jillian in the article.
But even though his baby was stuck to his chest all the time, he never stopped crying. "He cried unless it was in my chest, so I began to breastfeed continuously."Landon breastfed about 9 hours on the first day of life. After two days, he had lost almost 10% of his birth weight (a situation that is normal for newborns but must have a limit) and Although Jillian worried that Landon didn't get enough milk, she trusted the medical professionals around her that told her everything was fine.. But the reality was not that.
Just 12 hours after her baby had been taken home from the hospital and less than three days old, Landon went into cardiac arrest as a result of dehydration. He was then taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where he stayed for 15 days until he died.
"The best advice I received from one of the doctors at the NICU was that yes, the chest is the best, but you can continue with the bottle. It is a way to know if your baby has eaten enough ... if he could only return in time"writes Jillian.
Today, five years later, Jillian is the mother of a girl named Stella and realizes that the signs were always present in Landon's case:
"I feel courage because, how would I know? I remember when Stella was born, she was always quiet. I constantly asked the nurses what was wrong with her and they answered 'Nothing. He is doing what he is supposed to do. ' Eat sleep. And that was when I realized that it was not normal for a newborn to cry as much as Landon did. He was crying because he was hungry. But I did not know. I should have known. I still struggle daily with my feelings to feel that I have failed him".
Remember that this case is one among thousands
Although it is a very sad story, it is not a reason to be alarmed or to stop breastfeeding for fear that this may happen. Yes, we have seen it happen, but it is not normal nor is it usual, it is a very rare and unique case in which neither the mother nor the professionals knew how to identify the signs that the child was not feeding.
One thing I notice particularly strange about the mother's story is that everyone assumed that because of the fact that the child was attached to the breast, she was being fed, but no one verified that milk was actually being produced. It seems that neither the mother nor the professionals saw or tried to manually extract milk, they only trusted that they had done it when they saw that the baby had a good grip from the beginning. The fact that there is no comment about the mother's milk makes us think that indeed, as a lactation consultant told her, Jillian had trouble producing milk and her baby received nothing while she thought she was feeding him.
Although it is important to know the symptoms and to be alert, we must keep in mind that if this were normal, we would see many more news of babies dying from this cause. There is a belief that babies fed with breast milk have greater weight loss in the first few days, but a study a few years ago found that there is no relationship between the type of feeding (breast or formula) and weight loss in the baby .
What are the symptoms of dehydration?
There are some signs that indicate if a baby is dehydrated and they can be the following:
- The mother fails to extract colostrum or breast milk.
- The baby shows signs of hunger and never being satisfied, such as crying inconsolably.
- In addition to the aforementioned signs, dry or clean diapers may also be present, accompanied by weight loss.
If your child is stuck taking your chest for hours, but it seems that he is not satisfied and also cries inconsolably You may not be getting the milk you need and you are starving. When a baby does not receive the necessary amount of calories through exclusive breastfeeding, he will try to get it by breastfeeding as long as possible, causing even more calories to burn through the effort and continue without receiving the milk he needs, which was what possibly It happened to Landon.
What if my milk is not enough?
Many mothers, especially those of us who are new, have this fear present in our minds. But it is something that rarely happens, there are very few cases in which it has happened. Although it is something very rare, yes it is important to pay attention Also to some signs to know if your baby is getting enough breast milk, such as the amount of diapers he soils, his weight and his mood in general.
Something that I consider important you should do, unlike Jillian's case, is that you verify that you have lowered your milk. Stimulate production with your hand and checking that you are producing milk is important to ensure that your baby is really getting what he needs.
Breast milk is the best, but in some cases where the baby is not really getting enough milk, you can opt for rely on formula as a temporary measure in which problems with breastfeeding are overcome or solved.
One way to be calm and sure that your baby is well fed is follow a plan or series of stepsFor example, start by trying to give your baby the best: breast milk. If there is a problem, the first thing should be to try to solve it and in the meantime, we can give you some artificial milk with a syringe to avoid starvation and gain weight. If the problem with breastfeeding has no solution then we can have a plan B, which in these cases would be to use formula, but It is best not to go directly and totally to the formula without having tried to solve the problem that has presented us with breastfeeding before.
In these cases, and whenever it concerns the health of your baby, you must trust your mother's instinct. Your baby will give you the signs and you will know how to interpret them. If you feel that something is not right, even if others say yes, ask for a second opinion. If in doubt, approach a lactation consultant or a hospital. Many mothers fear that their children are not feeding well enough because they cannot see or measure the amount of milk their children drink, but most babies get what they need from the breast.
And if for some reason, if after trying, the problems with breastfeeding can not be solved or overcome, the formula is an alternative and you should not feel guilty or bad mother for not having a successful breastfeeding.
