What Your Pediatrician Doesn't Know About Breastfeeding

I attended an "open house" the other night at The Mother'hood in Denver, CO.  This place is THE place for expert breastfeeding support in the area.  I also take my toddler there for yoga, play groups, music, etc.  My husband even goes to their daddy's group. And no, I'm not part of their marketing team.  Just a total groupie.

Anyway.

The "Open House" was meant for pediatricians with the goal of providing information on when and why to refer moms and babies to lactation support.  Often, pediatricians do not understand a lot about breastfeeding.  Sorry, let me rephrase.  Pretty much all pediatricians do not understand a lot about breastfeeding.  They usually do know it is good for babies, and that ideally moms and babies will breastfeed for six months to one year.  But their knowledge tends to taper off there.  Why, you may ask (or scream if you're righteous and full of angst like me).  Here are some reasons why.

1. Formula companies spend approximately $10,000 per medical student in an effort to increase these future M.D.'s comfort level with artificial milk feeding
2. Pediatricians are not nutritionists.  They know how to diagnose and treat illness.  
3. Pediatricians are not lactation consultants.  They know how to diagnose and treat illness.
4. Pediatricians do not take courses in nutrition or lactation.  They take courses in diagnosing and treating illness.
5. Pediatricians are not often aware of the emotional journey mamas are on when trying to successfully feed their babes at the breast.  

Your pediatrician, if she's good, knows a lot about illness, treatment, and child development.
But what your pediatrician doesn't know about breastfeeding is a lot.
So depending on how important breastfeeding is to you, having access to lactation support might be very important.  It is really disappointing that these two fields of study are not overlapping more.  

At the "Open House", various mamas and babies were interviewed to discuss their experiences with receiving lactation advice from their doctors. One mama, when she and her pediatrician discovered that her son was not gaining adequate weight at 4 months old, was told: "Maybe your milk doesn't have enough calories for him.  Why don't you try drinking a milk shake every day."  Luckily this mama was no dummy and she headed straight to an IBCLC (remember this stands for *really fancy lactation lady* or International Board Certified Lactation Consultant), who discovered that her son had a 90% tongue tie.  A common breastfeeding problem which can be easily and quickly solved.

The goal of this open house was to spread the word to pediatricians that they don't have to guess at or pretend to know the answers to breastfeeding and weight gain issues.  They can instead make a referral or enter into a collaborative discussion with someone who, like them, has spent years and years and years becoming an expert in their field.

How can we spread the word to pediatricians and to parents that there are a lot of resources out there for lactation troubles.  And that those resources are usually not in their doctor's office?  The Mother'hood made a stab at it with their "Open House".  There was a beautiful spread of cheese, crackers, fruit, chocolate, wine, and beer.  Moms, and doulas, and midwives, and parenting educators showed up in droves.

Any guesses on how many pediatricians showed up?

Just one.

Waterfall starts with a raindrop.