When my son was born with a recessed jaw (ie overbite), he was not able to latch properly onto the breast. Visits with lactation consultants, repeated attempts where both he and I got frustrated, and a hungry baby led me to rent a hospital-grade, double electric breast pump so that, until my son could latch, he could still receive the health benefits that come with breastmilk.
Once into our routine, and still having trouble with the latch, I decided to forego the breastfeeding attempts, which were just angering my son, and making me very sad watching the frustration in his face. By pumping on a regular basis, I was able to feed my baby the same milk that he would get by feeding from the breast, and keep him happy and healthy.
The best of many worlds
Pumping has been quite a great experience for my husband and I. My husband gets to feed the baby and have that wonderful bonding time with him. I enjoy his help for 3am feedings, while I pump. We both get back to sleep much faster than if I was doing everything myself. And, should I want to be alone or with friends for more than an hour, I simply leave a bottle of expressed milk for my husband to warm up for our son. Also, since I am still feeding breastmilk, I avoid the expense of formula, and the stress of sterilizing water and making sure the formula is sterile. At the same time, my little boy is getting the nutritional, health and protective benefits that a breastfed baby gets.
Finding other ways to bond
While it is true that breastfeeding is an excellent way to bond with your baby, pumping, like bottle feeding, also allows women who cannot feed from the breast, or who choose to pump for other reasons, to bond in a different way with their little one. While feeding from the bottle, hugging, cuddling, kissing and talking to baby are great ways to bond. Look into baby's eyes while you are feeding him or her, and let baby know how good a job they are doing eating, and how proud you are of them. In this way, Dad can do the same, and enjoy a very important bonding experience with his child.
Not for everyone
Pumping is not for every mother. Using a hospital-grade pump comes with a cost for rental per month, and choosing a non-hospital grade pump may produce less milk. Pumping takes time, at least an hour per day, and sometimes upwards of two hours. Milk storage must also be considered - if you are overproducing, do you have a freezer where you can store the spare milk? Could you accept dumping extra milk down the drain, something which some mothers see as a waste of their hard work?
Most difficult of all is the feeling that you cannot leave the house because of the need to pump every 2-4 hours. While portable pumps ease the burden of being "tied to the pump" at home, mothers who are expressing milk often still feel that they don't have the same freedom of breastfeeding women, who can feed their babies any time, any place. Portable breast pumps come in many styles (single manual, single electric, double electric etc.) but each comes with a down side. Manual pumps require a good deal of effort, and single pumps take a good deal of time, having to pump each breast individually. Double electric pumps come with a pretty high price tag, and may cause mild discomfort.
Healthy happy babies
If breastfeeding is not possible, and formula feeding is not your preference, pumping offers another option for feeding your baby. It allows you to supply breastmilk, with all of its benefits, to your little one. While not the traditional method of breastfeeding, pumping allows mothers to feed their child the same milk as breastfeeding, and takes the stress off of those mothers who are unable to feed from the breast. And since "breast is best", mothers who pump are working hard so that they can give their new little angel the best nutrition, right from the start.
Ashlea Langevin - Ms. Langevin is a freelance writer and currently works for the federal government as a Program Assistant in Ottawa, Ontario. She completed ...
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