h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Breastfeeding - A88047697
Author: Tavaron da Quirm - Arts Editor - U1314679

This Entry is a result of a discussion I had with Dmitri which had something to do with tha baby formula crisis.

I know this got a bit long but somehow I had more to say than I first thought. It's also different from what we already have in the Guide.

If anyone could help me with finding a better title...

Hope this is ok and informative enough.

How About 'Breastfeeding: A Mother's View'?

This is great! I just had to look up colostrum today. (I'm following the Twitter discussion and being enlightened.)

I love the bit about the '100 baby shark teeth'. (Don't anybody link to that song, it's dirty pool)

Since I have no views on the subject and no right to any, I hereby offer merely a list of spelling/syntax corrections:

benefitial => beneficial (It's in there twice.)

Only a small percentage of women actually has too little milk.
Should be: Only a small percentage of women actually have too little milk.

She has a slightly raised demand on calories.
Should be: She has a slightly higher demand for calories.

There are different possible ways to hold a baby during nursing and it pays off to at look into it during pregnancy already.
Should be: There are different possible ways to hold a baby while nursing: it pays to study these ways during pregnancy.

...even while standing up if must be...
Should be: ...even while standing up if need be...

Glass bottles may seem like the more healthy option, on the other hand...
Should be: Glass bottles may seem like the healthier option; on the other hand...

Even a breastfeeding mother will find her milk flow not as good as usual for instance in times of stress...
Should be: Even a breastfeeding mother will find her milk not flowing as well as usual in some cases, such as times of stress, and may have to...

As medication gets to the baby throught the mother's milk...
'throught' should be 'through'

'more hungry' should be 'hungrier'

'most healthy' should be 'healthiest'

it does pay off to give the baby as much as she can.
Should be: it does pay to give the baby as much as she can.

If you want an illustration, here's one from Library of Congress.

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005681217/

Thank you! I'll make all these corrections tomorrow.

This is great indeed - superb opening paragraph

Your knowledge and experience shine through the Entry, so this will be an asset to the Guide - thank you.

Very informative indeed - eg I learned about colostrum a while ago, but didn't know that the different kinds of formula simulate the varying composition of breast milk.

I like how you worked in the link to the Common Breastfeeding Problems Entry and balanced different experiences. Just in the second section I wonder if the sentence "This pain or discomfort however changes soon to become a pleasant experience with the baby." needs tweaking to say something like, "This pain or discomfort, however, usually changes soon to become a pleasant experience with the baby."

Wise words about clock watching and 'helpful' advice, too - my only experience with the subject of this Entry is that when I was a baby my mum was told to feed me every four hours, but I always got hungry after three hours for some reason (possibly because I was my mum's first child so she produced less milk, or possibly because I have cerebral palsy so perhaps wasn't able to feed as strongly as 'average' babies could so didn't get enough to last me for four hours). It was difficult for a while, but then mum decided to ignore the timing 'rules' and we did much better. When I got older I sometimes needed formula topups, too, but that wasn't anything for my parents to get worked up about, either, as you say

I've made all the changes and corrections.

Thanks Sasha!

After my first child was born he didn't latch on - I suspect because of the rather stressful birth at the hospital. After 3 days or so the midwife told me to feed him every 3 hours because he had lost too much weight already. I ended up pumping and feeding breastmilk from the bottle because breastfeeding just didn't work. I think formula topups are fine, it's better than being stressed and having a hungry baby.

Hi Tab, my breastfeeding days are now over 30 years ago but I am a staunch supporter of the principle and can't understand why anyone would choose to bottle feed. I suppose I was simply lucky in that I was squirting all over the place and didn't have a shortage)

On reading ( not sure if I read your most updated version) I would point out a couple of errors (nearly wrote 'boobs'! - pun not intended!)

Under The First Milk, I find it rather disconcerting to read "breast" in the singular. The usual way to say it is in the plural. (Last time I looked I had two!)

to lose weight - not: to loose weight

litre not liter - the policy of the site is to use the British spelling.

Sorry, Tav,spelt your name wrong - autocorrect.

Thanks a lot TC

I've made these corrections.

That's better - there are a couple more places where the English is not quite right but you have done an amazing job on the whole. I would just point out that "hurtful" is more of an abstract concept: a hurtful remark is offensive or insulting. A more suitable word for over- full breasts would be "sore".

A few things could be added.

To help the baby "latch on", a good trick is to squeeze the nipple gently between the outstretched index and middle fingers of the opposite hand. This reduces the size of nipple that the baby needs to take into its tiny mouth and stops the bulk of the breast covering its tiny nose, thus allowing it to breathe!

As leaking will very probably occur ( you do mention this) it is advisable to wear dark, patterned clothing when out and about, as this camouflages the stains.

The infant may notice a change in the taste of the milk when and if the mother menstruates or becomes pregnant again.

A very important part of breastfeeding is when - and HOW - to stop. Are you going to go into that? It is almost enough to fill an entry in its own right.

I have used "it" in my examples above, but these days it is more usual to use "she" or to alternate between "he" and "she".

Thanks a lot. I added some of that.

I didn't want to decide between he and she and using it alternately seems strange to me. I'll stick with 'it'.