A few weeks ago we started a series of entries about myths about breast milk with which we want, slowly and with good lyrics, explain what are the most common myths that are still heard in the street and even in pediatric consultations and explain what is the current reality.
I say current reality, and not "the truth", because the myths we are talking about are "the truth" of a few years ago, which over time have lost validity and have become untrue, becoming myths by remain valid as recommendations.
Today we are going to talk about a very common myth among moms and very heard in the pediatrician's office as it is lack of milk, also known as hypogalactia, that eye, is not a myth for all women, because some will have to really produce little milk, but there are not as many as cases are known.
Hypogalactia is a widespread disease (but it is not true)
It is very common in the pediatric consultation (I as a nurse hear it every two times three) that a mother who arrives with a newborn tells you that is giving him a bottle and no longer breastfeeding because he didn't have enough milk. Then the pediatrician marks as a reason for not breastfeeding "hypogalactia" in the history and the thing is there.
AdvertisingIf data were collected from a health center (mine for example) to know why women give a bottle and not the breast we would get a very high percentage of hypogalactias and the reality is that it must be one of the only conditions whose diagnosis is made by the mother. It says "I had no milk" and that's it. "If you say it is true," think many professionals.
But the truth is that it is unreal. It is not that it is false. It is not that it can be said that all women have milk, because whoever says this is feeding another myth about breastfeeding. But one thing is that a minority suffer from hypogalactia and a very different one is that having milk is seen almost as a miracle of nature within the reach of very few women, because they start by breastfeeding many (more than 70% of women), but Gradually, as babies grow, rates fall by up to 25%, more or less, at 6 months. Along the way, sooner rather than later, those mothers who believe they do not have milk, and who believe it also for the help of family and friends (and sometimes even professionals) who support the mother by feeding the myth, are falling.
What should happen when a mother thinks she has hypogalactia
It is possible that when a mother says "my child is hungry, I would say I have no milk", she is right because she is not really producing enough milk.
Before this phrase, two things are usually done: tell him that it is not true, that all women have milk and that he gives it on demand and very often to have more milk or to tell him that he has a hypogalactia and that then he has to give a bottle (or various).
The two solutions are equally wrong.. The first for denying something that could be real and for giving a solution that many mothers already follow (“I have it all day hooked on the tit, but it cries and cries and does not gain weight”) and the second for letting the mother do a diagnosis, do not offer a solution that allows breastfeeding and solve it with bottles, ending the breastfeeding of that child.
Let's say that the ideal would be for someone to say something like: “You don't have milk? Why do you have this feeling? Even if it looks like a lie, many mothers believe they don't have milk just because of feelings or wrong beliefs. I will always remember a mother who told me that she thought she didn't have enough milk because the child asked her so often (this was every 90-120 minutes). I weighed the child and in a week I had gained almost 400 grams. Obviously I told him that the frequency of the shots, although many people seemed strange, was normal and, what is more clear, that gaining 400 grams in a week it was impossible for her not to have enough milk. However, she was almost determined to start giving bottles, lacking only my confirmation that it was necessary to do it to start doing it.
Well, by asking about the sensations, you can get to know what the beliefs are and what the information and what is more important, we can know what are the intentions and wishes of mothers and from there we can give appropriate advice and recommendations.
Tomorrow we will continue talking about this topic and we will talk about the possible causes of hypogalactia, about the possible reasons that make a woman think she has hypogalactia and we will offer a brief guide on what should be done when a mother thinks she has no milk or when a relative who speaks for her (usually the mother, the baby's grandmother) explains that "This child is hungry, I would say he has no milk".
