Breastfeeding
With Diabetes
By Lauren Priegues
Coral Gables FL USA
From: NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 17 No. 3, May-June 2000, p. 84
We provide articles
from our publications from previous years for reference for our Leaders and
members. Readers are cautioned to remember that research and medical information
change over time
My first daughter, Katharine,
was born four-and-a-half years ago. She literally kicked her way out
of my womb, and my husband says when he saw her face for the first time,
as she screamed at the top of her lungs, he felt a sense of fear: she
was a force to be reckoned with. Katharine was demanding in every way,
not the least of which was nursing. I was determined to nurse her exclusively
for as long as possible. I have been an insulin-dependent diabetic for
15 years, and I knew that nursing her would reduce the risk of her getting
diabetes but it was a challenge from the start.
Katharine wanted to be at
my breast all the time. She rarely napped for more than half an hour.
Like many needy babies I've learned about since then, she wanted to
be held, comforted, and nursed most of the time. It seemed as if I never
had enough milk for her. I remember one day when she was three weeks
old, I had had her on my breast for five hours without more than a couple
of 15 minute breaks all afternoon. At 5:30 PM, my husband, Lazaro, walked
through the door and I burst into tears. I was exhausted, mentally,
emotionally, and physically. We decided to give her a bottle of formula.
After four ounces, she was finally contented and peaceful and she slept
for the first time all day. I felt so inadequate as a mother. That day
was truly a low point but, luckily, things became easier after that.
I persevered, determined to nurse Katharine exclusively. Slowly but
surely, my milk supply began to increase to the point where, at three
months, she was satisfied and happy.
Katharine weaned at eight
months, earlier than I wanted but I was happy that it was her decision.
Today, Katharine is an incredibly bright, healthy four-year-old who
speaks fluent Spanish and English and is a joy to behold. She is (and
always will be, I'm sure) demanding, energetic, and often difficult.
My baby, Elizabeth, is just
the opposite. She was born just over a year ago and her laid-back disposition
was evident at birth, just as Katharine's fiery personality was. Elizabeth
has always been easy but when she was four days old I feared she was
too easy. She was simply sleeping too much and not as alert as she should
be. I knew something was wrong but I didn't know what. My LLL Leader,
Faith, was the one who noticed Elizabeth's jaundiced appearance. Faith
told me not to worry but to be sure and wake her frequently for feedings.
I was worried and called my pediatrician, who was my husband's cousin
and godmother. When I described the jaundice, she said immediately,
"Stop the breast. She has breast milk-induced jaundice. Give her
formula. If you insist on breastfeeding, give her lots of bottles of
water." I knew from reading baby-care books that that type of jaundice
was extremely rare and didn't appear until two weeks and my baby was
only five days old. My mothering instinct told me that what my baby
needed was more of my milk, not less. I had read that giving her bottles
of water would make her jaundice worse by starving her of the calories
she needed. I decided to take my baby out into the sunlight and breastfeed
her as much as possible. To my husband's family's horror, I decided
to find a new pediatrician, one who would support my commitment to breastfeed
my baby exclusively.
Elizabeth improved and within
a few days was healthy and gaining weight like crazy. She did not have
a drop of formula from the day she was born until she was ten months
old. Even though I went back to work part-time when she was six months
old, I had built up a supply of frozen milk from the early weeks by
pumping every morning. Elizabeth began to wean last month (at thirteen
months) and is incredibly healthy. I am so grateful that I had Faith's
support and counsel and that I had the determination to do what I knew
was best for my baby - to give her my milk.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:30:33 UTC 2007.
