Hospitals urged to help new moms breastfeed
March 17, 2010
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Noor Javed
STAFF REPORTER
Kim White gave little thought to the breastfeeding-versus-formula debate before her baby was born. White decided she would make a choice when she had to.
As it turned out, she needed both.
Little Audrey was born premature in early March, and for the first four days her baby was given only formula. White then tried breastfeeding, but needed the help of nurses and lactation consultants at Toronto East General Hospital.
"They showed me how to pump, and that was key," said White. "It was comforting to get help from people around me. If I had just gone home, I would have had no idea what to do."
White plans to continue breastfeeding when she goes home next week.
But a study released Tuesday by Toronto Public Health found rates of breastfeeding among new mothers drop significantly six months after the birth, especially when the mothers fed their babies breast milk and formula in hospital.
Almost half of women who use both in hospital continued to do so two weeks after the baby's birth. By six months, only 17 per cent of women were exclusively breastfeeding.
Dr. David McKeown, Toronto's chief medical officer of health, found the results concerning, given that the benefits of breastfeeding are well known. It reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, as well as gastrointestinal, ear and respiratory infections in infants.
McKeown said societal attitudes and hospitals play a major role in educating new mothers about the benefits and can influence the likelihood of them continuing to breastfeed for up to six months.
The study surveyed 1,500 women at 10 hospitals. More than 62 per cent were born outside Canada and 33 per cent had been in Canada less than five years.
Conducted in 23 languages, it found women who were young, low-income or had Cesarean births were more likely to stop breastfeeding sooner.
Toronto East General was the only hospital to meet the WHO/UNICEF criteria for "baby-friendly" in 2007. It offers breastfeeding clinics, lactation consultants and sessions in Urdu and Chinese.
But Linda Young, the hospital's director of maternal newborn and child health, says breastfeeding is not for everyone. "The most important thing is that mom is comfortable feeding that baby," she said.
In most cases it has more do with a lack of knowledge of the options and help available, Young said.
"Once you are home, you are isolated. You can't read a book and learn. You need someone to show you how."
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Toronto Star