My story: breastfeeding support at TMC after birth

[klearad]

Hi Beerbelly,

Don't be too worried. Believed you have read all the comments in this thread, some of the mummies have good memories and some have unpleasant memories.

Personally, I feel that in all hospitals, the delivery experience depends mostly on the nurses and their services. And this is often by luck, whether you meet the nice and professional ones on duty.

During your delivery, you can ask your hubby to be with you and give directions to the nurses that you require breastfeeding assistance and guidance. I hope you will meet nice nurses on your delivery day. Hee I experience nice nurses 9-10 Mar 09 and is grateful to that.

Ultimately, the last decision lies with you. if you still feel insecure in delivering at TMC, you can check with your Gynae if he/she can deliver babies at other hospitals. Coz, its not so good to change Gynae at wk 37th now, so close to delivery date.

Hee read up more and power yourself with breastfeeding info. Don't worry too much now. Be a Happy Ma Ma Wow, a little happy prince to be born soon.

 

[beerbelly]

Hi Klearad!

Thank you so much for your reassurances and advice! I am definately reading up as much as I can about BF-ing, and will muscle in my hubby for back-up to stand my ground on BF-ing if/when I'm too dopey to make a decision.

They won't feed my boy formula or glucose if I refuse right? But it's still scary wor.... Time to prep the hubby!!!!!!

hehehehe

 

[klearad]

Hi Klearad!

Thank you so much for your reassurances and advice! I am definately reading up as much as I can about BF-ing, and will muscle in my hubby for back-up to stand my ground on BF-ing if/when I'm too dopey to make a decision.

They won't feed my boy formula or glucose if I refuse right? But it's still scary .... Time to prep the hubby!!!!!!

hehehehe

Hi Beerbelly,
My personal experience at TMC: They will ask you if you want to feed your boy with formula milk. Let your hubby do the work by keep reminding the nurses there that you are on Total Breastfeeding.

Dont worry so much at this point. Being happy and relax is good for delivery Think of whether your little boy looks like you or your hubby, whether he is as heavy as what the gynae has scan, whether he will cry a lot immediately after birth, hee and whether he has a lot of head hair.

 

[cmeilim]

I gave birth to my boy at TMC in May this year. Hubby and I had attended BMSG workshops before and read up a lot on the dos and don'ts for successfully breastfeeding and we were determined to make it work for us and our baby come what may. It was stated clearly in my birth plan that I wanted TBF and my gynae endorsed the plan. We handed a copy pf the plan to the midwives and nurse when I was admitted. Both hubby and I reminded them during the labour process that we wanted to nurse our baby once he was born, before he was cleaned and weighed. My gynae did not need any reminder and promptly plonked ian onto my chest.

ian did not come out too bloody but still had some vernix on him. despite a very long labour, he was very alert, much to everyone's surprise, and naturally hungry and could latch on and suckle well from the start. after a while, the midwife said need to put the baby under the warmer cos the labour ward was too cold for a newborn. So we agreed and let her take ian to clean, weigh, wrap with a blanket and put under the warmer for a while. then ian was given back to me for more cuddling, bonding and photos.

as i delivered at 4-ish in the morn, when i was wheeled into the 4-bedded ward at 6am, ian had to undergo the PD's checks and was taken to the nursery. i had time to sleep and at 9ish, my hubby enthusiastically went to the nursery to 'claim' ian. throughout the 3D2N stay there, TMC let us have Ian with us as long as Ian is not needed for bathing, jabs, check-ups during the daytime. As mine is not a private ward, they didn't allow rooming-in, which would have been ideal. But Ian's cot had a sign that said big and clearly TBF and the nurses assured me that they would bring him to me if he was crying for milk.

I specifically requested for the LC to come and see me and reminded the counter staff twice. Both LC and other nurses helped me with positioning Ian at various times for correct latch. They might not be most gentle in the way they handled baby or me, but I didn't think they were being rude or impatient.

For my first nite there, i was running a fever, so when the nurse brought Ian to me at midnite cos he was crying, i was shivering so badly that i couldn't nurse him. but it was alright, because ian was just fussing a little and proceeded to fall back to sleep. i reminded the nurse that ian should not be fed on formula milk or water at all and to bring him back to me when he next cried. when ian was brought to me again at 4am, he was truly hungry then and i was able to nurse him. Hubby and I also knew that babies could cope the first two days without much nursing or much milk because they had reserves in their body to use up and also they might be a bit sleepy in the first few days.

On the second nite, the nurse brought Ian to me at (his) demand through the nite. i learnt cradle hold and football hold from the LC, and that was helpful. the nurses at TMC were nice and friendly during my stay.

all in all, equip yourself with breastfeeding knowledge, esp for first-time mums like I was. better still, attend BMSG workshops before delivery. write a birth plan and ensure your gynae signs it, and attending staff in the labour ward are aware of your intentions to breastfeed. do not hesitate to remind them, repeatedly if necessary. hubby plays a very important role in ensuring that medical staff adheres to our wishes and birth plan as long as it's medically safe, because we might be too absorbed during the labour process and too tired after that to be fully aware of the things happening around us. do not be afraid to assert your rights (within common reason) as a paying patient and mother of your baby so that your best intention to breastfeed is not foiled.

 

[CharlesnKian]

i was reading on the part abt 3 days bb no drink milk... ...
Actually for NB, they can go without milk for 3 days. its true if u ask PD. Their body has somehw store up "food" so meaning they can fast for 3 days.
Not really true that if u dont latch on will go milk-less.
For my 1st child, she refuse to suckle. & yes being 1st time mum, i was so worried that bb has no milk to drink so i ask nurse for glucose water. & yea bb didnt want to latch on at all!!!
For 2 days i tried in Hospital but she jus refuse.
Then i tried again when im home, she slowly learnt to suckle. Maybe she had nipple confusion cos she started using the bottle & then not used to suckin nipple as its shorter.
Then by day 5, colostrum came. Still managed to BF till bb was 11mths old.
So the first few hrs when bb is born doesnt really affect if you have alot of supply or not.
Supply is slowly being built up "by supply & demand"

 

[meiteoh]

I was told by the midwives that the first few hours/days is crucial to establishing supply (read to kick start the body into producing milk and not be lazy - LOL) and to get baby used to the idea of sucking from the moment of birth itself. Maybe I was lucky coz my baby's first reaction when she was given to me (after I came out of the OT) was that she opened her mouth and nursed when I offered my nipple.

 

[mabel]

maybe your next pregnanncy you can try Mt.Alvernia.
their service is excellence!!! their nurses, LC all super friendly, patient and kind! on the next day of my delivery, it was my bday. thenurses there actually bought me a cake. really sweet of them! my next pregnancy i would definetly go there again =)

 

[iceydragon81]

hi mummies,

it is with great shock that i read the threads here. i personally was 1 of those who gave birth outside TMC but specially went back to TMC to ask Mrs Wong & her team to guide me in BF and it was a great success for me with only 1 day trip down to TMC parentcraft and the charges were very reasonable. we also went back 3mths later to get the LC to guide us on how to bottlefeed our son and again they were very patience and charges also reasonable. i believe there had to be some mis-communication btwn mrs wong, her team and the mummies. maybe also because i attended mrs wong antenal class before so i already knew her communication style may seem a bit impolite to some mummies who dont know her well enough. but she is ver warm and friendly and encouraging and babies really love her alot at her 1st touch, including my son!

fyi i attended the classes in may tis yr and gave birth in jul n went back in aug and nov tis year respectively.

i believe there had to be some mis-communication along the pipeline.

 

[woofy55]

for me, i gave birth in TMC and breastfeeding experience has been good. Lactation consultants, Ling and Lilian were patience.

 

[piggie]

I gave birth to my boy at Thomson Medical Center in May this year.....all in all, equip yourself with breastfeeding knowledge, esp for first-time mums like I was. better still, attend BMSG workshops before delivery..... do not be afraid to assert your rights (within common reason) as a paying patient and mother of your baby so that your best intention to breastfeed is not foiled.

Happen to chance on this old thread, although I gave birth via emergency C-Section in Mt A, still would like to share with mummies my breastfeeding attempts/experience when I was hospitalized for that few days.

As I was a C-section patient, on epi and painkillers, I was not in anywhere fit to attempt to latch baby on once she is borne. The endless shivering (due to epi) just made things worse..haha

I got to see my baby only next morning at abt 6 or 7am when the nurse brought her to me for a short while before the Dr. came by to check on baby.

At that point of time, my milk is not in yet, so my 1st attempt at latching on later on in the day at about 9am was a total failure. Baby sucked hard but got no "reward" AKA milk, so she started to wail... which, made me end up in tears also..

I stayed in a 4bed ward, baby was wheeled to me so long they are not conducting any checks with her. My first few attempts to latch, was guided by either their Nurses/Patient Assistance Officer. The way they handle my breast and how they "shove" the baby's head twds my breast at every opportunity, was seriously not a pleasant experience.

Thruout the 4 days hospitalization, i only managed to get hold of Mt A's LC after 3 days of constant calling to their office, reminding them again and again to please pop by and visit my ward. I tried very hard to persuade myself to believe that it is due to their busy schedule, which is why they were so difficult to locate.

Finally, I got a correct latch after the LC popped by my ward 1 day before i was discharged.

However, due to the fact that for the past few days, the nursery has been supplementing my baby with formula (was worried abt her crying non-stop), baby was nipple confused and upon latching onto my breast and sucking for like 1 or 2mins, found out that there is no milk, she would unlatch and cry...

I bought fenugreek from GNC to boost my supply and my milk came in about 2 days after I got home (total of 6 days from birth). Since my baby prefers the bottle, I am feeding her expressed breastmilk. Each pump interval abt 3-4hrs, can express a total of about 80ml - 140ml from both breasts depending on the interval. This is after abt 2 weeks of consistent pumping.

All in all, I think that in order to encourage more mothers to breastfeed, the hospitals should be wrking harder to provide mummies with a better "learning to breastfeed" experience, while we are still in hospital.

Just my 2cents worth..

 

[cmeilim]

hi piggie

did u just give birth at Mt A? I hv usually heard very good feedback from friends and my sister who delivered there last year and this year respectively. including positive feedback about the LCs and the support they provided for them and their newborns in terms of learning how to breastfeed.

you'll be glad to know that seven out of the nine maternity hospitals in Singapore have signed up to be accredited by the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative next year, which essentially means creating the kind of environment in the hospital after the baby is born that will support breastfeeding and mother-baby bonding. i believe Mt A is one of these seven hospitals.

i have been breastfeeding my elder boy since two years ago, and naturally, also my second boy after he was born this March. i must say that breastfeeding, ironically, doesn't quite come naturally to first-time mommies in my own experience - i was too disturbed by the rough handling of the nurses and LCs and shoving of my elder boy's head into my breast.

however, i can also say for sure that breastfeeding gets a lot easier with subsequent babies. i didn't need someone to teach me how to get the correct latch. I knew how to sswiftly and confidently guide and position the baby from the moment he was born and placed on my chest to initiate breastfeeding. my milk came in from day 1 after delivery and supply was neven an issue.

i have also learnt the following from my own experience:

- that it is quite alright to 'shove' the baby's head to the breast and then for the mommy to try and stuff as much of her aureola into the baby's tiny mouth, simply because the newborn squirms around a lot and you want to get the correct latch as quickly as possible in order to minimise sore nipples for yourself and maximise the amount of milk that your baby will be able to suckle from your breast. don't worry, your newborn won't get traumatised by the shoving. he or she is only interested in getting milk fast! the more we dilly-dally at the breast or fumble at latching him or her on, the more the newborn will get hungry and frustrated, and the louder he or she will cry.

- secondly, a newborn really does not require that much milk. its tummy capacity is only 20ml!! all that downing of 50, 60 even 90ml of formula milk into a newborn's tummy is really quite inhumane, IMHO. newborns arrive with reserves in their tummies to last them the few days when the mommy's milk might not have come in yet. besides, the nutrient-rich colostrum in the first few days is more important for building their immunity.

- thirdly, newborns will usually cry often, and it might not be over milk. more often than not, they are just expressing their incomprehension of the new strange world that they have just entered, with lots of bright lights and lots of people (doctors and nurses) trying to do all sorts of checks and tests on them. more often than not, they cry simply because they want to be with mommy and to be cuddled by mommy, whose voice, smell and heartbeat they have grown accustomed to while in the uterus. so don't panick whenever your newborn cries. learn to read its cues to understand why it is crying.

 

[piggie]

hi piggie

did you just give birth at Mt A? I have usually heard very good feedback from friends and my sister who delivered there last year and this year respectively. including positive feedback about the LCs and the support they provided for them and their newborns in terms of learning how to breastfeed...

Yea, I just delivered on 8 Sept viz C-Sect, which was why my milk came in only on the 6th day. Prior to that, I was freaking myself out with the thoughts of "what if I just had no supply?!" haha.. my colostrum was in already in small amounts..

I do agree that Mt A LC's are very supportive and friendly, as I mentioned in my post, I only managed my 1st correct latch AFTER i was visited by the LC herself.

Before she was free to pop by, I was attended to by their nurses and patient assistance pple, who wud be trying to guide the baby to latch. This is where all the "shoving" came about.. haha.

Not saying that the nurses dunno how to guide la, but perhaps the method that they use not as gentle as the method that LC uses when she was teaching me to latch on the NB.

Yes, I agree that we need to try to stuff as much aerola into the NB's mouth as possible, but if you ask me, I prefer to doing it myself back home, rather den being roughly manhandled by the nurses in Mt A:err:

But since she is already used to the bottle, and I have no problems maintaining the supply with total expressing, I guess I will be feeding her EBM from now till when I decide to wean her bah..

All I am hoping for the attempts trying to BF in hospital is that at least she got a tiny weenie bit of colostrum from mummy to aid in her future immunity. :001_302:

 

[lyra]

Hi Piggie, my fren gave birth in Mt A recently. I am also giving birth there soon so she advised that if FM is necessary, do insist on the nurses using nipple that is closer to our nipple shape like NUK bottle nipple instead of AVENT. If we dun request, they will just give any type available. This reduces chance of nipple confusion.

She also say the nurses there shove baby to her breast and she didn't request for LC so they never come to see her. But for me, I'll request for LC to come.

One fren gave birth in TMC but went to Mt A for LC instead. I think TMC's service std isn't there anymore. It seems too crowded and not very worth the money since we are paying private hospital fee but dun get better treatment.

 

[piggie]

Hi Piggie, my fren gave birth in Mt A recently. I am also giving birth there soon so she advised that if FM is necessary, do insist on the nurses using nipple that is closer to our nipple shape like NUK bottle nipple instead of AVENT. If we dun request, they will just give any type available. This reduces chance of nipple confusion.

She also say the nurses there shove baby to her breast and she didn't request for LC so they never come to see her. But for me, I'll request for LC to come.

One fren gave birth in TMC but went to Mt A for LC instead. I think TMC's service std isn't there anymore. It seems too crowded and not very worth the money since we are paying private hospital fee but dun get better treatment.

Good to know tt you are intending to breastfeed too

Well, my adv is even if you have already informed them tt you wan to c the LC, make sure you keep reminding them until they get to see you. Mt A LC seems to b very busy always.. I only managed to see the LC on my 3rd day at hospital.

 

[luvbene]

Hi all,

For me, i give birth to benedict at KK hosp, normal delivery, also told them total BF, right after cleaning up rested 3hrs then transfer to normal ward, the nurses there gave me my boy when he cry.. the nurses there was helpful with the BF'ing.... It was only when my boy discharged after birth and when stayed in KK hosp for checking some breathing issues, when their nurses not very helpful at that time.. Otherwise, in teaching BF they are good. My BF ended when boy is 8mths ... Same experience, when i go home, and try to latch him he sleeps, and when put down on bed he cry... everyday is like this... i latch and pump at the same time.... and to end BF is also very painful.....

 

[Bebe Nana]

Hi moms

I also have very pleasant experience with Mt Alvernia's nurse and LC. Very helpful and well entertaining questions even after leave hospital...
Without their help I might have give up breastfeeding, so apart from self determination the support group plays very important part..