First, I needed to write about this before publishing this month’s newsletter, I was truly surprised to find it had been just about a year since my last post. By reading the title you might think about how breastfeeding helps moms shed the baby weight. Although this is one of the reasons many moms like breastfeeding it is not the focus of this post.
I have been asking this question for the last few weeks, I posted it on my South Jersey Baby’s Facebook page, I posted in one of the Lactation newsgroups I belong to, all I found out is that others think it is a good question too. As a Lactation Consultant I am looking for ways to get more moms to hire me but even more I am questioning why those who do don’t make full use of my services. When I give a client a care plan I always tell them, this is what I am recommending you do for the next few days and then we should follow up and make a new plan based on what happens. If I call and reach them this may happen but more often then not I try and reach them and they don’t get back to me, rarely do they call to follow up. I hear from moms months later that they were pleased with my services, I hear from doctors and others that their clients I have seen are pleased, so I don’t think I have done anything in most cases to make them not want to follow through, it’s just that it is hard to get across the concept of I work.
Although no one has been able to offer me great ideas to fix this problem (some colleagues said they build multiple visits into their initial charge – something I don’t think will work financially or geographically where I am). I think I have come up with an analogy that explains what my colleagues and I are experiencing.
I thought about women and weight loss and have been able to draw several parallels. When a woman wants to lose weight, she knows the basics – cut calories and burn calories with more activity/exercise. Then she will develop a plan, she may read some books or web sites and find a diet and/or exercise program she thinks will work for her. This is how many moms get started with breastfeeding, they know it is the best choice for their baby and the most natural. They may take a class and/or do some reading during their pregnancy on how to make it work. Then they deliver their baby.
In the hospital mom may see a Lactation Consultant in the hospital, this is like the mom who goes to her general practitioner at the beginning of her weight loss program to find out if her body is healthy. Her doctor may give her a few pointers based on his expertise or experience but not a long term plan. Hospital lactation consultants have a very limited time to spend with mothers, most likely problems that may develop like poor weight gain for the infant are yet to be evident, so then the mom goes home and then tries to make things work. If they are not working she will start to go through resources; read up, talk to her doctor, talk to a breastfeeding counselor, talk to her friends – any and all of these may be helpful or not but usually will only give her a piece of the answers she needs. She will often jump from idea to idea and try to figure out what is working and what isn’t. If the problem is minor this and some time might be all that she needs, just like the women who only needs to lose a few pounds and keep eating more healthily.
The breastfeeding mom who has a real problem then may hire a lactation consultant. Just as the woman who hasn’t been able to lose weight on her own may join a diet program or a gym or both. The lactation consultant comes, evaluates the situation and makes recommendations. This is where I get back to my original question, if the consultants recommendations are working or not in a few days that will become obvious. If things are improving the plan will still probably need to be revised, the number of pumpings changed, the amount of supplement decreased, etc. If they are not working other things may need to be tried based on what the mother reports about the results of her efforts, a different pump, a referral to her doctor for some health screening or any number of other things. If the mom found the suggestions were working but keeps doing exactly the same things progress might slow or stop, just like the dieter who hits a wall and the weight loss slows or stops. They both need to modify their plans and take the next steps. This is where I am at a lose to help moms to understand. I know sometimes with weight loss it takes years of women trying different things until they find the right solutions for them, some never do and either give up or battle off and on the rest of their lives. It’s just with breastfeeding, the time frame isn’t so long. If they don’t get the solutions, they will soon give up and rarely resume breastfeeding, maybe trying again with later children or they will never have the best experience and tell others that they tried but were not successful.
The last correlation is we know that continuing support can be the answer for both groups. Once they have found the breastfeeding answers that work or the right diet and exercise program for themselves; follow up with their lactation consultant or support groups can keep them focused and doing well, whether it’s La Leche League or Weight Watchers they can find reinforcement and the satisfaction of supporting others.
So I still have no answer to my question but maybe I have a better understanding of how woman deal with problem solving. So for now I guess I’ll just go back to working on my diet and exercise plan for this year and keep encouraging my clients to keep in touch.
If you have ideas for me I would love to hear them, the best way to have me hear them is to email me or post them on one of my Facebook pages. I get so much spam in the comments of this blog I don’t always get to read the real ones.