My story: breastfeeding support at TMC after birth

[blubberish]

Hi all!

I wanted to post this up for no other purpose than to share my experience at TMC. My friend has tried talking to TMC management on my behalf about this issue but the reply we got appears that they are not interested in changing their policies. So thought to share and see if any others have my experience as well.

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[FONT=&quot]I recently delivered my first baby, Amelie, at TMC on 12 April 2009, and discharged on 14 April. I had informed the hospital at the outset of my intention to breastfeed my baby, and had been fully confident that TMC would help me. Unfortunately, it did not turn out to be so. Below is a chronicle of my stay at TMC.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
12 April 2009
7.30am - Admitted for induced labor. I specifically told the Sister who attended to me that I am going for total breastfeeding. She mentioned that this will be passed to her colleagues.

8am - 7.39pm - Went through all routine for induced labor. I specifically checked that it is put on record during the 1st stage of labor that I want total breastfeeding for Amelie. Finally, labor ended.

7.39pm - Amelie was given to me and then taken away after about what seemed like a minute for the purpose of cleaning, height and weight measurement. When she was back, I was still alert and asked for her to be brought to me. However, midwife said that she needed to be put in warmer. Not knowing any better, I did not persist. I was then wheeled to my room, 624A, and I went to sleep. A staff asked me if I wanted glucose water to be given to Amelie, and still being groggy, I agreed.

[/FONT]

 

[blubberish]

[FONT=&quot]11+pm - I woke up and had a little to eat. I then asked the nurse who came in that I wanted Amelie to be brought in. The nurse refused stating that Amelie needed to be placed in warmer. I did not persist. I then rested further.

13 April 2009
3+am - I asked for Amelie to be brought to me. Nurse said that I'm in 2-bedded room and cannot have her with me. I told her that the other patient has yet to be admitted so I would not disturb anyone. She then said that she would try to get her in. Amelie was brought in shortly. She was sleeping and so I did not try feeding her. Soon, she was brought back to the nursery. I rested.

6+am - I asked for Amelie to be brought in to me. The staff said they were changing shift and Amelie will be brought in after breakfast. I waited.

9+am onwards - Amelie was finally wheeled in. I tried to breastfeed her but was unsuccessful. The nurse who was there tried to help by pushing Amelie's head to my breast but that only resulted in both our frustration. She told me that my nipples were short and asked if I wanted a nipple shield. Not knowing what that was, I refused as I wanted to do direct feeding. After about half an hour, Amelie was wheeled back to nursery. K Chew, the parent craft staff came in and checked how I was. I told her my difficulty and when Amelie was wheeled in, I tried to feed her. She told me that my nipples were short and I felt offended by the way she told me how to massage my breasts. As she sounded like she didn't have a lot of time and I was rather confused, I did not check any further. She also asked if I were Siew Kwun's friend and I told her yes. Later, Mrs Wong Boh Boi came in and again kept pushing Amelie's head to my breasts. We gave up soon as I was very uncomfortable with the way she handled us. She left shortly and asked me to call her during the next feeding time. Although I agreed, I did not think it was helpful to call her back as the experience was not pleasant. I struggled further to breastfeed Amelie. Some times she got it, most times she didn't. During the night, when I requested for Amelie, I was told that she will only be brought in at 12mn and 4am respectively as they were changing shift and can't give her to me any other time.

[/FONT]

 

[blubberish]

[FONT=&quot]14 April 2009[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
I was discharged from TMC. I had given very positive feedback as the staff were friendly. I was then unaware how much they had impeded my breastfeeding efforts, as I was a first-time mum. Ironically, a copy of Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, a joint WHO/[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]UNICEF statement is on the door of my room.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I continued to struggle with feeding Amelie after I got home, was depressed and miserable because baby just could not latch. I did not see the first drop of colostrum until Day 3 of Amelie’s birth. When I think back on my experience at TMC, I now realize that many of those experiences do not conform to best practices for breastfeeding.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1. I was not given baby to put the breast within half hour of birth, although I requested.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Because I had very short nipples, this would have been especially important, as my [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] baby’s suckling reflex would have been stimulated, to help me latch her in the first [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] days. Because this did not happen, she will be uninterested to suck for the next 40 [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] hours, a very crucial period for us to learn to breastfeed.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Step 4: Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within half an hour of birth.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]2.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] She was brought to me for her first feed 14 hours after birth![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Has TMC been feeding her something else even after my instruction that I am going[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] for total breastfeeding? Nursery curtains are tightly drawn most of the time. What is [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] going on behind them?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Step 6: Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breast milk, unless medically [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] directed.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]3. I asked for her be roomed-in with me, and was denied.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]How am I to get to know my baby and practise breastfeeding if she cannot be with [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] me? How can I breastfeed on demand when I don’t even see her most of the time?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Step 7: Practise rooming-in – that is, allow mothers and infants to remain together – [/FONT][FONT=&quot] 24 hours a day.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Step 8: Encourage breastfeeding on demand.[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]4. Please teach me to breastfeed; I’m a new mother.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] I was told I had a problem, “Wah, nipples so short!” but I was not told what I could [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] do to help me feed. I realize now that you cannot teach breastfeeding in a hurry; and [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] the nurses helping me seemed to have only 5 minutes for me. I would also like to be[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] handled with dignity. Baby was being shoved onto me, and my breasts are a very [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] personal part of me; I do not want to handled like a piece of meat.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] I never once saw my baby diapered while in hospital. This would have been a [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] learning experience too, if the nurses had done this at my bedside.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Step 5: Show mothers how to breastfeed, and how to maintain lactation even if they[/FONT][FONT=&quot] should be separated from their infants.[/FONT]

 

[blubberish]

After the meeting my friend had with TMC management, this was their reply:

Thank you very much for your feedback dated 15 May 2009 and for allowing us to address the issues raised.

We sincerely apologise for failing to meet your expectations. On 13 April I visited you in your room but was only able t0 spend 5 minutes with you as your baby was very sleepy and not showing any interest to latch. (Erm... of course, since baby was not given to me to feed her on demand!) As your baby has some difficulty latching, I immediately latched the baby on at the earliest opportunity when the baby started rooting. I am very sorry I did not explain the reasons for my actions which may appear to be "shoving".

TMC holds a track record of having 90% of all new mothers initiating breastfeeding in labour ward. (I wonder how much is due to TMC or to mothers' own efforts?) Over 85% continue to breastfeed after one month. All mothers are followed-up through phone calls by our lactation consultants. We regret and do sincerely apologise that you were unintentionally missed in the follow up list.

Please be assured that TMC is totally committed to promoting breastfeeding. We have about 8 to 12 outpatients seekng breastfeeding consultations on a daily basis at our ParentCrasft Centre. 96% of our patients successfully continue to nurse their babies after these consultations. Many patients have found the breastfeeding consultations very beneficial and we have even had patients from other hospitals seeking out services. (I went to KKH to get help from THEIR lactation consultant, but won't it be better if I was better assisted DURING the hospital stay instead???)

Sigh... felt so angry to get such a letter! I spoke with my cousin, who gave birth at TMC 1 month earlier. She also had a similar experience though she managed to breastfeed through her own efforts. I definitely won't go back there for my next pregnancy...

Hope no others will go through what I did.

 

[Daddy D]

Hmm... sounds bad... I thought TMC would be better than KKH...
TMC did not call u to explain/apologise? Very in-personal to reply with that letter.
At least KKH makes the effort to call me when I send them complaint emails...
Hope u have better luck with BF now.

 

[blubberish]

Nope, they did not. I was really depressed in the first month after i got home because of this!

I had great support from KK lactation consultants though... Even though I am not feeding her through direct latching, I am giving her my expressed breast milk.

It seems that my experience is due to their breastfeeding unfriendly policies. Another mother has already PMed me to let me know of her experience. I think new mothers-to-be need to be informed so that they can at least make preparation for this if they wanna breastfeed.

 

[Amulet]

wow.. i gave birth at TMC also.. they also insist to put baby in warmer after my c-sec.. only manage to get baby after 4hours of persistent nagging.. was so anxious to latch her on.. heng she manage to latch on coz i guess she havent been exposed to teats yet.. the nurse doesnt help much la..

midnight they wheel her to me 2hourly.. i try my best to keep her there with me as long as possible.. but one thing i was not quite please about, was that i was c-sec, yet by 2nd night, they juz wheel baby to the room and leave her there w/o carrying her to me.. means i gotta very slowly and carefully come down from bed and tediously carry her back to bed or sit on the chair to breastfeed her or cuddle her.. thn carefully put her back into the cot..

guess next time round i would choose MtA instead ba..

 

[snowbear]

Wow, sounds like a really bad experience. I visited my friend at Thomson Medical Center last time and my friend asked the nurse to help with bfding while i was there. It happened that i was bfding my baby when the nurse came in and she thought i was the one who needed help and nearly tried to snatch my baby from me! I wonder how that can be possible coz i'm not in hospital garment and my baby was already 4 months old, certainly doesn't look like a newborn!!!! Then my friend had to keep asking for help from the nurses and they just kept coming in and going out without really helping. Also when i asked my friend if the LC had taught her how to bf and the basics regarding bfding and she said she'd not met the LC... So i can really understand your frustration...

My experience at KK was quite eventful on the first day. I was told by someone in the operating theatre that i cannot bf my baby after my emergency c-sect due to some drugs that i took. i was very upset coz i also read about how i shld feed my baby as soon as possible but i was too groggy and just accepted it. Next morning when i asked my gynae, she was SUPER MAD when she heard what i told her. She said that i could bf my baby and demanded who relayed that wrong msg to me. It ended up as a very big issue coz my gynae's a super big shot there and every now and then during my stay at the hospital i kept getting nurses of all ranks and fr diff depts coming to ask me to identify the person. Even after i was discharged, they still called me. I really couldn't rem the person coz i was groggy then and didn't want to wrong anyone then.

I must say that KK has good LCs (the LC came first thing in the morn aft i delivered to help me with bfding n explain bfding stuff to me) and even the nurses at my ward were very helpful with bfding and always brought in my baby when i asked for her. There was actually 1 nurse who spent half an hr with me to try to make my dear daughter latch. Even tho in the end she failed to latch, e nurse just comforted me and said to try next time... I roomed in with dear daughter and they only took her to the nursery when she needed to do chkups. They also taught my dear husband and i to change baby, cup-feed baby... after seeing my friend's experience at Thomson Medical Center i really feel that kk is much much better altho it's a govt hospital!

 

[blubberish]

wow... sounds like KKH is really better in terms of promoting breastfeeding practices... I wonder how my story can help more mothers-to-be make a better informed choice in their hospital choice... Really feel angry and don't want others to suffer the way I did.

Any suggestions?

 

[cherry]

I had my c-section in Gleneagle Hospital. The nurses there were very helpful in breastfeeding and I didn't encounter any problem blubberish mentioned at all. It is true that the experience in the hospital do affect our impression in breastfeeding expecially to new moms. Mothers should know what to expect after delivery if they have made up their mind to bf. All those bfding booklet or pregnancy books are very helping.

 

[stonston]

I delivered in TMC in Jan 07 and had good experience with the LC (Mrs. Wong Boh Boi) but bad experience with the ward nurses and one of the lactation nurses. After my long and nasty email to them, they waived off consultation fee for seeing the lactation consultant (1-to-1 appt for 3 seperate occasions).

Some of the nurses in TMC have very terrible attitude (just like the one I had at labour ward, tt's y i refused to let her check my cervix). Some are extremely nice. If they gave you a hard time, request to speak to the staff nurse IMMEDIATELY. dun wait

btw, it should hv been conveyed to ur gynae tt u wanna breastfeed way before ur delivery. tell nurses no use. my gynae noes i wanna breastfeed so the moment baby was ok, he placed baby on my chest to try latching while he stitched me up. baby was all bloody n yucky (haven even wipe yet) when i tried to latch. not successful at all cos he was too busy looking ard and i was too busy looking at him too.

anyway, my baby belongs to the category of dunno how to latch on. it was onli when he was 3weeks old tt i managed to successfully latch him on

 

[blubberish]

Cherry: yeah, I agree...

Stonston: All the more the management should have their nurses trained on such matters! It should be a hospital policy (which staff will follow) to help mothers to breastfeed in the best manner possible!

 

[isabelandrew]

can i share my experience? i delivered my baby girl at mount alvernia. the baby was brought to me after clean up. in fact, the nurse asked me if im BF~ing.actually i did gave in to one FM feed bcos i was lost what to do when the nurse told me bb kept crying. i tink nurse sometimes they handle so many babies so they dun care sometimes.
the next day my gynae asked me if i wan to BF, he arranged for a lactation consultant to see me. she was not very good. i tink she was not happy i was not concentrated listening to her bcos i was so sleepy .. i just dunno why i was so sleepy when i BF.
as i indicated i BF, the baby was pushed to me promptly about 3-4 hrs gap for me to BF. most of the nurses (except the 1st nurse) helped me to latch and assure me the milk is coming later. some also teach me how to latch and pass my nipple cream when my nipple was sore.
well, the best part was having to meet sister kang the next day. she , super professional and knowledgeable. she was able to tell me how come i felt so sleepy BF. teach me how to latch, explain to me. she even pass me a name card for me to call if i got problem. she is superb. when i reach home, i even ask her to come home visit.
on the whole, mount a is breastfeeding friendly hospital and knowledgeable in bf-ing.
im not sure why TMC handle your case like that but im really surprised. when my bb was sleeping, Mount A nurses also pushed the bb to me. cos u need to wake up sleepy bb to latch ma.

 

[shespice]

I delivered at Mt A last Dec and the staff there were most helpful. I had a c-sec and baby was also passed on to me later in the day after clean up to start latching on. I guess I was fortunate coz my gal just latch on with ease. The nurses were ready to help to position the baby and also showed the various ways to help me breastfeed. After discharged when I had initial difficulty with milk flow, Sister Kang was really helpful and encouraged and showed me that I do have milk in her office and advised me not to give up. I continued and am glad things turn out well.

 

[blubberish]

wow... Sounds like Mt A has excellent breastfeeding support for new mothers! I think it might be a good choice for my next one... (after I get over the tiredness for Amelie... =))

 

[mich_liu82]

Urm, seems like you all have bad experience with TMC huh? Maybe bcoz you all are 1st time mums?

I had my 1st experience at KKH and it was damn bad... Nurses there dun show sympathy at all... I couldn't BF but they insisted I should n when I cried, they scolded me...

My 2nd n 3rd experience was at TMC, simply wonderful... My 2nd 1 dis time round i wanted to BF, as I was struggling, the nurses der all very patient n caring... the lactation staff, i 4got her name, came up few times to help me too when i requested...

3rd experience was I oreadi noe how to BF, so it was orite for me. As for baby to be brought to me, they aways bring in during feeding time, which is every 3 to 4 hours interval. N each time they leave baby with me for at least 2 hours.

Btw, baby gotta put in warmer bcoz their body temp is quite low. You dun 1 your baby to be sick right? The nurses der r not new, they have many yrs of experience, so they will noe better den us too.

For breast milk, it will only come in on the 3rd day, 1st 2 days baby has reserved inside the body so we do not have to worry. as for feeding with FM at hospital, the nurses will only give when the mother requests for it. They are totally pro active on TBF at TMC.

 

[blubberish]

wow... Sounds like you had a great experience at TMC.

Yeah, agreed that it could be due to the fact that I'm a 1st time mum.

I spoken to other mums who had more or less the same experience as me... I don't think mine was an isolated incident. One of my friend's wife bought and sold breast pumps thrice as she gave birth there 3 times and did not get adequate support from the staff there. I guess it differs with people ba...

My purpose in writing this is really just to let people know of my experience and for them to learn from it so that they can have a better start at breastfeeding.

 

[stonston]

I just double confirmed with my hb, during my stay at TMC, baby stayed with me throughout the day. They only took him back at night. The nurses came in to check on him periodically, show my hb how to change diapers and tt's it.

Maybe bcos I delivered on weekend so they din push baby back to nursery all the time? The nurses just told us must wrap baby warm and showed us how to wrap and tt's it. PD also did not mention must keep baby in warmer. He only pushed baby back to nursery for the jabs.

I asked my friend who just delivered at TMC 2 wks ago, her baby's PD told her tt her gal gotta be kept in warmer cos she haven learn to regulate her own temp yet. i tink every baby is different and it realli depends on the condition the baby is in.

I think for new mummies you must question their every move. Like my friend will question the nurses and if she not happy with the answer, she requested to see staff nurse or she'll call her PD to check.

some of the nurses are actually trained at KKH/SGH/NUH and their knowledge of BF may not be what you expect (this is wot the nurses themselves told me).

 

[pinkytham]

ya you shld!
mt a provided very good and excellent services!!
i just gave birth on 3 apr 09 this yr
never regretted choosing there
staff were friendly, and nurses too!
among say for eg. 10 nurses, only 2 were kinda unfriendly the rest were great!
mi also c sect but the nurses carried baby to me =D
she was also wheeled in to me within an hr frm my birth
and to me every 3hrs =D
but baby was also forced on to my breast and was kinda uneasy
maybe that is a standard way???
my nipples even had blistered after latching on for the first few daes =(
but the lactation lady sae still can and i had to endure the pain everytime baby latched on...
but overall service was great!

wow.. i gave birth at Thomson Medical Center also.. they also insist to put baby in warmer after my c-sec.. only manage to get baby after 4hours of persistent nagging.. was so anxious to latch her on.. lucky she manage to latch on coz i guess she havent been exposed to teats yet.. the nurse doesnt help much ..

midnight they wheel her to me 2hourly.. i try my best to keep her there with me as long as possible.. but one thing i was not quite please about, was that i was c-sec, yet by 2nd night, they just wheel baby to the room and leave her there w/o carrying her to me.. means i gotta very slowly and carefully come down from bed and tediously carry her back to bed or sit on the chair to breastfeed her or cuddle her.. thn carefully put her back into the cot..

guess next time round i would choose MtA instead ..

 

[mich_liu82]

wow... Sounds like you had a great experience at Thomson Medical Center.

Yeah, agreed that it could be due to the fact that I'm a 1st time mum.

I spoken to other mums who had more or less the same experience as me... I dont't think mine was an isolated incident. One of my friend's wife bought and sold breast pumps thrice as she gave birth there 3 times and did not get adequate support from the staff there. I guess it differs with people ...

My purpose in writing this is really just to let people know of my experience and for them to learn from it so that they can have a better start at breastfeeding.

Yup, indeed I did... I also have friends who tell me Mt A was good, I dont deny the fact there are many pretty good comments bout Mt A but ultimately I still feel comfortable with Thomson Medical Center. So if im eva gonna have my 4th one, I'm definately going back there.

I see... good luck then...