Joy provides all the postpartum help and does it in the comfort of your home. She is very reasonably priced (on a sliding scale). Joy is a Registered Nurse and Certified Lactation Consultant with many, many years experience in postpartum support. She has a wealth of knowledge and good connections to other services in Santa Fe. If you know of anyone who is need of these types of services, I encourage you to call her. 505-984-8225 or visit her site on Santa Fe Postpartum Care

Issues she can help with are as follows:
• Resolving sleep deprivation
• Distinguishing an infant’s cries and cues
• Ways to promote physical and emotional healing
• Breast feeding concerns and questions
• Nutritional needs of the mother and baby
• Herbal healing
• Providing quality infant care while the mother sleeps
• Connections to community resources

Here’s a great article from the New Mexican about Joy and the breastfeeding state-of-affairs in Santa Fe.

Please spread the word! Thanks so much.

A European “pregnancy expert” has come out today saying that breast milk is no better than formula. I thought this debate died in 1974 or so. Apparently not.

His argument is that although breast-fed babies are slightly heavier than formula fed babies, it wasn’t the milk that made the difference. He says it’s the pregnancy. He says that a healthy placenta lowers the level of testosterone in the womb, and testosterone is linked to a women’s ability to produce milk and to breastfeed. So if a woman has a less than perfect placenta, she will produce more testosterone which will in turn lower her milk production. It has something to do with the milk gland production.

I am not an expert in “hormonal changes of pregnancy” like this guy claims to be, but to me his argument doesn’t make sense. Even if a less-than-stellar placenta did increase testosterone levels during the pregnancy thereby making milk production less, wouldn’t this issue resolve once the baby was born? The placenta would be gone, and the baby herself would determine how much milk the mother produces by the effectiveness and frequency of suckling. The glands are already there. Women have been known to start producing milk even in absence of a pregnancy if the need arises.

Of the 50 studies he critiqued “most concluded that the longer a child was nursed, the healthier it would be”. This directly negates his claim that it is due to pregnancy because THE LONGER they were nursed, the healthier they would be. In my mind, this proves that even if the testosterone does have an initial effect, it’s self-limiting. I don’t see how he can make the giant leap to say that formula is just as good as breastmilk. I think this guy must be suckling on the breast of formula producers!

Breastfeeding is best for the baby. It does help with obesity because the child must work for the milk and will stop when they’re full. It does help (maybe) with picky eating as breastmilk tastes a bit different depending on what mom ate. It helps with ear infections because of positioning during feeding an natural antibodies and immunity passed on through breastmilk. It helps mom’s lose weight because it takes energy to create breastmilk. There are also studies that say it helps with cancers and such, but that’s more complicated than I want to get here in this blog post.

My question to this professor is, even if what his testosterone theory was true, can formula do any of the above? NO. So how, under any circumstances can formula be just as good as breastmilk? It can’t.

I don’t even see why this stuff makes the news. One crack-pot professor should not be able to negate many years of research with one irresponsible statement. For shame.

Most moms I know want to do what is best for their kids but there is something about breastfeeding that lacks appeal.  Sure there are communities of women around the country (and the world) who proudly and openly breastfeed their kids until age 2 or beyond and support each other, but for the most part our culture is just not set up to support breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding, especially in the beginning, requires quite a commitment that a new mother may find challenging.

It’s initially painful until your nipples get used to it.  No one else can feed that baby so you can get some sleep. It’s messy-you’re leaking all over your shirt, your bed… You either have too much or not enough milk. It’s a strange sensation at first.   You have to sit or lie down to do it about 10 times a day for 20-30 minutes (that’s a lot of time). There is a learning curve related to positioning (and boppy’s simply don’t help).  There may be some issues about sexuality and your breasts. You might feel uncomfortable feeding in public which can make you feel tied down to home. You might not feel supported by family who never breastfed.  If things don’t go smoothly at first (which they often don’t) you might be encouraged by others to ‘just quit’.  If you are having issues, you may not have the appropriate support people to help you through the first weeks…..

THEN you may have to head back to work.  Your workplace might not give you time to pump in which case you’re doing it on the job.  You have to deal with bottles, storing, labeling, freezing, thawing, heating, engorgement, drying up and pumping-which makes you feel like a cow.  Usually you can’t pump enough, which makes you start supplementing with formula and before you know it the whole thing just starts seeming like a lot of work for little reward.

I know because every single one of those things happened to me or were feelings/sensations that I have had in the course of attempting to breastfeed my three kids.  There were challenges of epic proportions- especially when sleep deprived.

My first two children were tongue-tied.  Strange, I know, but true.  My theory is that infants learn to suck in the womb and because their tongues couldn’t extend past their gum line, they learned incorrectly.  With each of them I had bleeding, scabbing and mastitis (a breast infection)  three times (each!) and went so far as to go to physical therapy with my daughter to try to re-teach her how to suck.   I lasted about 4 weeks breastfeeding my son, and 8 weeks with my daughter.  I was determined, but the odds were stacked way too high and it didn’t help that I didn’t feel supported by some of my family members who would rather see me quit than suffer.

My third child was a dream come true.  From the get-go he latched right on and kept on going until he weaned himself at 21 months but it was not without logistical challenges- particularly when I returned to work.  Even as a labor and delivery nurse, working on a labor and delivery floor, some co-workers thought I was receiving special treatment because I attempted to sit down every 3-4 hours to pump milk.

Having had all these experiences taught me several things.  Ultimately, breastfeeding is way easier and more convenient than bottle feeding, not to mention healthier and safer for the baby.  The beginning is the hardest part, and then breastfeeding becomes a normal part of your daily routine.  You can do it as little or as much as you and your baby want and your body will adjust accordingly. (Towards the end of breastfeeding my third child, my body only produced milk in the evening for a before-bedtime feeding). Breastfeeding is very rewarding because you know you are doing the best you can for your child, creating a special time together and you can see the results when they GROW!

My advise would be to stick with your guns, surround yourself with like-minded people who support your commitment to breastfeeding (not just people who are committed to supporting YOU).

Consi