Lactation Consultants and how having access to them can help women succeed in extended breastfeeding of their babies essay

Modern rhythm and style of life leave traces on many spheres of our activity and breastfeeding, unfortunately, is not an exception. The social life of modern woman, as well as numerous standard,  contradictory and often incorrect recommendations given by doctors, incompetent relatives, neighbors and even friends, who do not really have  successful experience in extended breastfeeding of a baby, can lead to the violation of breastfeeding rules. The results are deplorable – women put babies to their breasts in a wrong way, which leads to weight reduction of a baby along with such problems of a mother as  pain, galactostasia, mastitis, quick decrease and disappearance of lactation and, eventually, turning from breastfeeding  to  using the breast milk substitute. However, it is quite possible to preserve the successful breastfeeding even under such unfavorable circumstances.

Standard approach and regime are usually not applicable to every mother and her baby, as each person has individual needs. Moreover, this sphere of knowledge is too narrow for pediatricians and gynecologists, so they often cannot provide enough useful information concerning the practice of breastfeeding.  Fortunately, nowadays there are a lot of competent and experienced specialists, who can help each particular woman to prevent or successfully solve various problems or questions concerning the natural feeding of a baby, and also preserve the lactation even in cases when a mother do not have an opportunity to be near her baby all the time. Having an access to lactation consultant is a right way to avoid lactation problems and successfully continue to feed a baby with a natural method.

But why is breastfeeding considered to be so important? The United States Department of Health and Human Services emphasizes on obvious benefits of breastfeeding for babies and their mothers as well as families in general and states that the baby’s health depends considerably on the method of feeding. Thus, it is noted that the exclusive breastfeeding at the time period of first six months will help to prevent the development of ear infections, diarrhea, and respiratory illnesses of a baby. Moreover, the fact of great importance that breastfeeding almost excludes such a phenomenon as childhood obesity. Speaking about advantages for mothers, they are also undeniable, as breastfeeding is considered to be the factor that reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancers and prevents a woman from undesirable pregnancies as the menstrual periods are usually absent in the cases of breastfeeding. It is also should be said that breastfeeding helps to create an invisible bond between mother and her baby, as with its help a mother get to know her baby from every side, moreover, in this way her self-esteem is increasing.  As for benefits of breastfeeding for a family and society, it is a common knowledge that the budget of a family will be saved and expenses will be reduced on the infant formula as well as health care costs. Furthermore, the natural way of feeding babies leads to the appearance of the healthier society and guarantees the health of future generation (Judy Torgus,Gina Ciagne,Suzanne G. Haynes).

But who are those specialists called lactation consultants and how might they help in preserving the breastfeeding? So, a lactation consultant is considered to be a woman who has not only a successful and reiterated experience in breastfeeding, but also a high education in medicine or pedagogics. As usual, consultants are aware of physiological aspects of lactation and techniques of breastfeeding as well as fundamentals of psychology of baby/mother pair (Riordan). Such specialists will be helpful if a young mother is experiencing the following problems: galactostasia, mastitis, hypo- or hyper lactation, painful sensations and traumas of mammary glands and breast in whole (Diana West, Lisa Marasco). Moreover, lactation consultants will provide psychological support to a young mother, help to overcome fears and become confident in one’s own strengths and avoid a lot of problems, even in the pregnancy time.

However, a consultation on lactation will be really helpful not in every case, but only if a woman:

• Has a strong desire to breastfeed her baby and thus realizes the importance of this process;
• Has known or is ready to learn information about natural way of feeding a baby and follow the principles of breastfeeding;
• Has decided consciously to get help from the lactation consultants instead of doctors, as she considers the practical experience of breastfeeding more valuable in comparison with the theoretical knowledge;
• Is ready to meet difficulties and accept some inconveniences;
• Puts the interests of her baby on a higher level than her own ones.

Doubtless, in many cases it is absolutely a daunting task for a woman to preserve the breastfeeding, even if she has a strong desire. In order to extend the period of natural baby feeding, the communication with lactation consultants will be really useful, as the knowledge and practice is the combination of their professional qualities that help a woman to overcome the difficulties she meets concerning the rules of breastfeeding. Thus, having the permanent access to the lactation consultant, a mother will never know or quickly forget about such problems as the absence or paucity of milk, painful nipples, galactostasia and mastitis, shortage of a baby weight along with her own tiredness and exhausted body. If a mother has a constant reliable support from the side of lactation consultant, confidence in measures that she is taking, the access to any information concerning the problems of breastfeeding provided by a specialist in this field, she will definitely be able to deal with any problem occurring on her way and breastfeed her baby as long as she wants.

Let us consider the process of consultation itself in order to realize how actually it may help a mother to keep breastfeeding her baby for a long period of time and do it effectively and without considerable efforts. It is undeniable that in the age of informational technologies mothers can get access to the lactation consultant with a means of internet and telephone, however, a lot of problems cannot be solved without the personal meeting, as the individual consultation in domestic surroundings will be more natural and easy.

First and foremost, the mother should be quite sincere with a lactation consultant and not be afraid to share the information about her pregnancy, the process of childbirth and the way the breastfeeding has begun, as a specialist will never spread the information and keep it as a medical secrecy. The following facts will be extremely important to the lactation consultant, as being aware of them, might help a specialist to find the most effective methods of individual approach to the breastfeeding. So, they include birth weight, how the weight of a baby increases from month to month, the exact weight for a moment of consultation, the number of urinations during the time period of twenty four hours as well as the number of breastfeeding for a day, and also the presence or absence of additional liquid (water, tea etc) in the daily ration of a baby (Nancy Mohrbacher, Kathleen A. Kendall-Tackett).

The second thing, which should be mentioned is that a consultant will definitely observe how a baby sucks a breast and if it is necessary, it will be shown how to put the baby to the breast in a right way for painless and effective sucking. The last thing is very important part of breastfeeding and cannot be learnt by telephone or internet, as it is an integral part of practical exercises that can be experienced with a help of a consultant. It is also important to find the most convenient breastfeeding positions and think of comfort of the baby as well. The consultant can help a mother to choose the most appropriate positions, which will be used by her during the whole period of breastfeeding. It is vital, that when a mother will assimilate an experience of practical skills stated above, a lactation consultant will give individual recommendations as well as answer all questions of a mother concerning the breastfeeding (Judith Lauwers, Anna Swisher). If a mother has an access to a lactation consultant, she can continue to be consulted by telephone or internet in cases when the given recommendations are insufficient or new problems have appeared. In any case, such a specialist is an irreplaceable assistant in everyday life of a young mother with a help of whom a mother will definitely succeed in extended breastfeeding if she follows the recommendations of this specialist carefully. And thus the lactation consultant will become a reliable support in a new profession called maternity.