How would you approach this? HV!

[StarlightWithAsteroid]

Had HV visit for first time since Ds born. She said she was a student HV.

She was lovely. Really lovely. Gave us lots of helpful information on services in the area as we've just moved. She also appeared a little bit nervous perhaps. She asked about the birth etc. did her screening questions - whatever and showed genuine interest in the homebirth (not common here) commenting that she'd had a c/s whilst adding quickly that she wasn't too posh to push.

She was also genuinely interested (but unable to help) with my attempts to get a freezer installed in the local children's centre for me to store donated BM stating that she'd never come across that before and offered to do some research.

Anyway, when it came to the feeding discussion she went all bonkers.

She asked me how long he was going in between feeds, which really isn't long. She offered a solution to something I hadn't actually defined as a problem and suggested I stop switch feeding and keep him on one breast longer. She said that the flutter-feeding when he appears to be asleep should be continued as long as possible because that is a sign that he is 'licking' the creamier milk rather than 'drinking' the liquid. I was too stunned to reply anything other than 'okay'.

No blockfeeding is different, it's like for any feeds between 8am and 12 you use the left side only, then between 12 and 4 only the right side, etc.

Glad you've been following your baby's cues and things have been better :)

op, how about just printing of a few pages from the good websites? Will not cost you anything and may lead her to look up and read more on them. I have never heard professionals refer to Kellymom, unicef et al and it may help her spread the word with colleagues.

But that's what I was doing Bertie because they had emphasised only one breast for each feeding/finishing each breast and two hourly feeds and because he was only staying on for, say, five to ten mins each time I thought I had to keep going back to the same breast in between. So was doing 8-10 on left, 10-12 on right etc. Just goes to show how easily advice can be misinterpreted.

Sometimes I really hate the overprofessionalisation of breastfeeding. I think it is wonderful and amazing that there are people who can give support when it's needed, and with my ds1 I was very grateful for some of this as I'd had a Kielland's forceps delivery and was in bad shape myself which made feeding hard as positioning was very difficult for me to achieve, also ds1 had a tongue tie and was a very sleepy baby after the delivery himself so the advice and support we got did keep us going...
BUT
this time, everything was going swimmingly in hospital(right no of poos and feeds and all that), yet because I was told before discharge on day 2 I needed to do it differently I went against all my instincts yet didn't fully understand why or what I was doing. I just took it on trust that I was being told what was "right". From reading this thread, it's abundantly clear to me that the advice given (even if I hadn't misinterpreted it!) just wasn't right for me. I should have stuck to offering both breasts at each feed.

Anyway, cue 9.8% weight loss by day 4, and I ended up with m/w's calling pretty much uninvited every day to "support" me which I found anything but supportive, as really I just needed to do what I was doing. Luckily, as a second time mother, I copped onto this fact pretty quickly and just went back to what seemed to work.. but I do think that all the "advice" and "evidence" can rob mothers of the feeling that they are doing what they need to with feeding when there's no real problem.

I found the same with antenatal advice. I had my midwife repeatedly tell me that breastfeeding was harder for our generation because none of us saw members of our community or family bfing, even after I had told her that every female member of my family had bf'd and all my friends.

Prescriptive advice isn't very helpful I guess! I understand that they want to support all women to bf but perhaps it would be best to wait until there seems to be a problem before spouting a lot of advice!

i wonder if it's maybe part of a general culture of assuming that people want to 'fix' normal new baby behaviour. e.g. feeding 'too often', not sleeping enough. etc.

as you say if there's an actual problem it's different.

Actually olimpia I wanted to clarify what the massive problem was with feeding from one breast, as that what I always did, to let baby get hind milk, and then only offered second if I felt empty or if baby wanted more, which didn't really happen early on. Which i kind if thought was what the hv was saying. It seemed from the massive slating of the health visitor that perhaps people were more of the school of thought that you should always switch breasts half way or something. I went on line and found that the advice I was given was correct, then I was told that giving bulk of feed from one breast first and THEN offering second was what people on here meant anyway. Still don't understand why the hv advice was so horrendous though as it was not dissimilar to the advice I was given.

Oh an btw you do sound very rude and patronising. Maybe some people on here do know more than me if they are professionals, but I am a mother who has breastfed a baby like most of the other posters on here so I am not completely ignorant. I just wanted to understand what the issue was, now I do, so thank you for those who clarified it for me, seems I had pretty much the right idea all along anyway.

My hv said the same thing about when baby seems asleep but still sucking (fluttery) then don't take her off, let her carry on as she will be slowly drinking the more creamy milk
Hv also said offer 2nd side if necessary but feeding from one side each feed was fine if baby was sleeping by the end of the feed or came off of her own accord and seemed satisfied.
This seems the same as what your hv said?
And really really similar to what Kelly mom says as bring correct too?
I followed this with dd and she's fed well for the last 10 months!

suddenly You are the rude and patronising one for going on and on and on about how everyone on MN knows best and gives unfounded advice.
Read back your posts. You were being quite aggressive from your first post.

There is no 'massive problem' feeding from one breast only....the 'massive problem' is giving this as routine advice that everyone must follow. with the strong implication that any other way is always wrong. It is equally a 'massive problem' to give as routine advice that everyone must follow that all babies should have both breasts every time.

Mothers should follow the baby's lead; for most this means feeding on one breast until the baby indicates he/she has had what they want on that breast, then offering the other....and offering the first and then the second again if the baby indicates a possible need/preference. The baby may refuse/not need/be fast asleep and therefore not 'accept' any of these offers.