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Expectant and Postpartum Moms
Those of you who went to Sibley and BF....
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Anonymous
| I hear you are supposed to BF as soon after birth as you can. How conducive is the environment at Sibley to do this (after a vaginal birth)? Should you make your wishes known to someone beforehand? Any feedback appreciated- thanks! |
Anonymous
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I found Sibley to be very supportive right after birth. I had a c-section, and they handed my DS to me as soon as I could control my arms. For a vaginal birth you would be able to hold your and try to nurse even sooner.
The only issue I had, which others have mentioned in other posts as well, is that when (not if) your baby begins to lose weight, they like to supplement. THey (don't remember who, but I seem to think it was a lactation consultant) told me that they could supplement with breastmilk, not formula. HOwever, the nurse told me it was unnecessary and we didn't supplement. Sibley does push this, however. If you need support from your pediatrician, you can double-check that she is not worried about the extent of weight loss. Most babies start gaining again with 3-4 days. |
Anonymous
| They aim to have the baby on the breast within an hour of delivery. |
Anonymous
| I had a positive experience. Everyone - my doc, the L&D nurses - expected that I would BF; they handed the baby to me right after the cord was cut and I held him for well over 1/2 hour, until he was able to latch on and feed for awhile. When the baby nurse came in to do her checkup of him, my DH and I told her to come back later. She seemed a tad bit annoyed, but we didn't care and everyone else was supportive of our request. (I actually don't recall whether that happened before or after my son fed, but I wanted to hold him until my doc finished stitching me up and he wasn't done when she came in.) |
Anonymous
| I had an emergency c-section at Sibley, and the nurse gave me my son and helped me get him latched on while I was still in the labor and delivery room as soon as I could control my arms. When he fell asleep after about five minutes, she came right back and helped me wake him up and get him back on and eating. All of the nurses after that were very supportive, as were the LC's. We did supplement with formula, but it was completely my decision (there was absolutely no pressure from any of the nurses I had) and it was for the first feed in the middle of the night so I could try to get a little sleep. |
Anonymous
| I had a c-section at Sibley and nursed within 20 minutes of getting into the recovery room. Everyone there was really helpful with nursing, especially over the first night as I was still figuring it out. They will assume you plan to nurse unless you tell them otherwise. |
Meconbear
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| Ditto to the other posters. I had my son in my arms right after the cord was cut and they did the quick check-over. The only negative experience I had was that the lactation consultant on-site was really rushed (there were a LOT of babies born that weekend and she was whizzing around to all the rooms) and didn't recognize that DS wasn't latching on correctly. Three days and two blood blisters on my nipples later, I called teh Breastfeeding Center and they fixed me right up. |
Anonymous
| So do they clean the baby off, weigh, etc before you feed? |
Anonymous
| They did with my son, but I think if you have really strong feelings about getting the baby right away, you need to tell the L&D nurse and the doc beforehand. DS was still very enthusiastic about finding the boob even with the delay for a quick rubdown, weighing, and being wrapped in blanket. |
Anonymous
| Thanks, everyone...(OP here) this makes me feel better. Sounds like they are very supportive. I'm due in 6 days and this is one less thing I need to stress about! |
Anonymous
| Yes, Sibley is great for getting you your baby immediately after delivery so that you can get the baby latched on. However, they also find many many reasons to get you to supplement. Supplementation is no good for a newborn baby. Their belly is only as big as a marble, and supplementation creates a situation where they get more food than they need, and thus makes the baby dissatisfied with just colostrum. Not to mention the potential for nipple confusion/preference which can indeed be a problem for some babies. Not to mention the fact that your breasts need to be generously stimulated throughout the first few days in order to build a healthy milk supply. Not to mention how formula irritates the babies new intestines....and on and on. It's a bad idea to supplement a brand new breastfed baby, and Sibley often seems dead set on doing it, unless of course you willingly do it first! Anyway, it's just something to be very aware of. |
Anonymous
| I've delivered at Sibley twice, and never was supplementation mentioned. It's a possibility that your experience was anecdotal, PP. Either way, there is no reason to scare expecting women unnecessarily, they have enough to worry about. |
Anonymous
| PP, I'm a doula and have seen the forced supplementation repeatedly at Sibley. I think it seems especially egregious when it happens because they, out of all the local hospitals, love to talk about how supportive of breastfeeding they are. And, this has nothing to do with scaring women. Women should know what to expect, and be prepared to stand up for what they want. I'm really happy that you (and the other PP's who spoke up) had positive experiences to share! Of course, it's not all bad there. But many many mothers have been caught off-guard and scared into supplementing when it wasn't really necessary. |
Anonymous
| OP here...so do you go by what your ped recommends as far as supplementing/weight loss and when do you ask this- when they come to check the baby? As a new mom, I know I don't know enough about this to make an informed decision on my own and want to avoid supplementation as much as possible. So I guess it's important to know when it is absolutely necessary and who to get this info from? |
Anonymous
| Pediatricians are not usually trained in lactation, and sometimes give out really bad advice. Your best bet is to make contact with a good lactation consultant, such as the ladies at the DC Breastfeeding Center, prior to birth. Go over there and take one of their prenatal classes. Have their number on hand. Then, if anything seems strange in with regards to the advice you are getting either in the hospital or from your ped, you can schedule a consultation with them. |