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When mother feeds best

Advocates for breast-feeding help so that new moms can feel confident with and enjoy their choice.

By LISA BUIE
Published October 30, 2006

Beth Kulick nurses her 16-week-old son, Theron, at a La Leche League meeting at the Land O'Lakes Community Center.
	[Times photo: Julia Kumari Drapkin]

LAND O'LAKES - Extreme.

That's the word that would immediately come to Elizabeth Glidden's mind when she heard the name La Leche League.

Images of brazen women fighting for the right to shock passers-by by breast feeding their babies in the most public of places.

But then Glidden got pregnant. She started noticing the studies: They all said breast milk carries more health benefits than infant formula.

She decided she would be remiss not to give it a try.

Two years later, the 31-year-old former third-grade teacher is a La Leche League leader who helped start a group in Land O'Lakes.

"I was kind of afraid," Glidden said, recalling the first La Leche League meeting she attended shortly after her daughter, Cassandra, was born. But she got to know the women and learned they were just regular moms trying to do right by their kids. "These are normal, kind people."

Glidden's own first breast feeding attempts mirrored those of many other moms. Once she held that 7-pound bundle, her attitude about nursing went from ambivalent to determined.

"I wanted to do anything for this tiny new creature," she said.

Three weeks in and Cassandra still couldn't seem to latch on correctly. She wasn't gaining weight.

The new mom panicked. She called the pediatrician, who just made her more nervous. Glidden worried she might have to resort to formula.

"Some motherly instinct kicked in, and I became the most determined person."

A co-worker happened to find out about Glidden's troubles. His wife was a La Leche League leader. He said Glidden should call her.

That leader gave Glidden the encouragement she needed to get Cassandra nursing and thriving. Today Cassandra is a healthy 21-month-old who toddles around the tile floor as her mother leads the Land O'Lakes monthly meeting.

Glidden was so thankful that she wanted to help other moms. She trained to become a La Leche League leader, someone who's available by phone 24 hours a day to help moms who are having difficulty.

"La Leche League helped me so much. It affected my life and my child's life," Glidden said. "I wanted to help other people."

So many questions

Step into a La Leche League meeting and you're likely to notice the babies in slings, able to nurse at any time. Toddlers run about.

"As you can see we will probably be distracted occasionally ourselves," says co-leader Melissa Faust, who tries to stop her 16-month-old from eating cheese she's allergic to.

The day's discussion topic is "The New Baby Arrives." But leaders also field more specific questions.

Alexis Newgent worries that 7½-month-old Emma wakes up during the night and seems hungry, but the pediatrician says she shouldn't need to eat. Newgent disagrees.

Glidden applies La Leche League principles that instincts can be trusted.

"I'd be upset if I were lying in my bed screaming and my husband didn't come," she said.

Laura Reyes-Armstrong asks what to do about 7½-month-old Alejandro, who is easily distracted and makes discreet nursing difficult. One answer: a nursing necklace, a child-safe piece of brightly colored jewelry that keeps a baby's attention.

Beth Kulick came from New Port Richey. She had breast reduction surgery and was told she might have to bottle-feed her son, 16-week-old Theron.

"I read everything I could," and was persistent with feedings, she said. She also found a pediatrician who had breast-fed twins. The doctor's perspective helped, she said as Theron fed happily.

A circle of support

Many moms at the Land O'Lakes meeting are the only ones in their families who have breast-fed. Some say their relatives don't understand or support them. Some husbands don't realize that breast-fed babies need to eat so frequently when they are newborn - human milk is more quickly digested than formula - that it's impossible for their wives to do much else.

"Most families have lost a couple of generations of breast-feeding women," said Katy Lebbing, manager of the Center for Breastfeeding Information at La Leche League International.

As a result, women who choose breast-feeding can't turn to their own moms for help. That's where La Leche's mother-to-mother support comes in, she said. Lebbing advises women considering breast-feeding to attend La Leche League meetings when they are pregnant so they know what to expect and have a support network in place when baby arrives.

"We're happy to help the woman who is sobbing on the phone three days after the birth, but it's not the ideal," she said.

Still some controversy

Mothers also worry about being trapped in their homes because they might need to nurse in public or because of the disapproving looks they might get if they do. La Leche League goes to bat legally for women who are threatened with arrest or asked to leave places because they must nurse their babies. (Florida law allows women to breast-feed anywhere they are legally allowed to be.)

Still, the issue causes controversy.

In August, a local breast feeding group asked to have a "nurse out" at Gulf View Square mall. The mall turned them down, citing a schedule conflict, but organizers said they heard some merchants got wind of it and were upset.

Glidden said discreet nursing in public shouldn't cause a fuss.

"I never noticed anyone was nursing until I was a nursing mother," she said.

Now, when she sees a women huddled in a corner with a blanket draped over them, she wants to offer encouragement, she said.

"I just want to go up and give those people stickers."

Lisa Buie is the central/east Pasco editor. She can be reached at (813) 909-4607 or toll free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4607. Her e-mail address is buie@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 30, 2006, 00:49:34]