Rebecca Surendorff

I am so happy to see some many wonderful nursing stories on this blog. I always knew I wanted to breastfeed my children when I had kids. I took a course at the local hospital when I was pregnant and I read up on it. Yet when I had my newborn in my arms I was all thumbs. I asked and asked for help but there was no one able to help me. When my daughter was 24 hours old a nurse came to our room and said we had to give her formula - I cried - and my daughter threw it all up. I was sent home without any real nursing help. I stuggled and struggled re-reading my books and I called the company that did home nursing visits and the nurse had no nursing help either. When my daughter had her check up the had lost weight and the doctor said I had "bad milk" and she should be on formula. I knew he was wrong. Women have made milk for their babies for thousands of years. I found a great lactation consultant that spent hours with me. I only wish I had her from day one. I wish the birth hospital had more lactation consultants and that my baby's doctor would have helped or at least sent me in the right direction. Formula is a for profit product and it has its place in our society, but 99% of women are capable of breastfeeding and the hospital should promote practices that are good for the mother and the baby's health in the long run, not market a consumer product.