I didn't even have nursing pads.
Adrian at 2 days old was receiving treatment for Jaundice and they sent me home. He needed to stay overnight. To my surprise I woke up completely engorged and the entire bed soaking wet. I didn't have breast pads, didn't even know what they were.
I reminisce back to the days after giving birth while at the hospital my nipples were on fire after having tried to breastfeed that first day. I hadn't packed any nipple cream and I wasn't offered any until much later and the damage had already been done.
Moms need support above all else. And they need information. and why not a little special treatment? Before the changes in NYS law regarding formula in hospitals it was wide spread practice to give formula samples and gift bag with formula. Why aren't we doing the same with breastfeeding supplies? I couldn't find any nipple cream in the supplies that the nurses made available. Sure I could ask for it. Imagine I'm a new mom with no real knowledge on breastfeeding, how would I even know to ask. Why aren't we sent home with breast milk bags and cream and nipple shields. Some hospitals used to give diaper bags full of formula. The support is not the same, even with all the policies changing.
I look at each of my pregnancies as a different stage of me learning how to breastfeed. But why did it have to take 3 pregnancies to get it right? Adrian, my first, had only a slim 3 months of breast milk .
We can do better to support women who choose to breastfeed . We can damn well do a much better job at helping breastfeeding become a realistic option. Not just a short term option either. We need to truly commit to supporting breastfeeding.
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