- [Gabby] Hi, everyone.
And thank you for joining us today for another installment of our World Breastfeeding Week
Facebook Live Series.
My name is Gabby and I am joined here with Dr. Annie Zimmer, who is a pediatrician
at Boys Town Pediatrics.
Today, we're going to be discussing common breastfeeding problems and how to work through them.
So we have an array of different questions to talk through.
And if anyone watching has any concerns about breastfeeding or issues they may run into,
feel free to leave those in the comment section of this video and we can get them answered at the end.
Also, we are doing a series of giveaways to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week.
So above this video, you will see an RSVP link.
Make sure you fill that out with your info and I will be selecting the winners for the giveaway in our
Breastfeeding Basics Facebook event tomorrow after our last live.
So stay tuned.
It'll be fun.
But anyway, Dr. Zimmer, how are you doing today?
- [Dr. Zimmer] I'm doing great.
How about you?
- Good.
Thank you.
And thank you for taking time to join us to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week.
I know there are a lot of moms that have tuned in this week and may have some fears about breastfeeding or
have run into different issues, so we really appreciate your insight and helping us
kind of work through those.
So let's hop into the first question.
It is, what are some common breastfeeding problems that you have heard from parents in your clinic?
- Yeah.
I would say the majority of our phone calls or worries from parents is about if baby is getting enough milk.
So that's usually what the concern is.
And we're totally there to help troubleshoot that and reassure, and help track baby's weight and growth so
that moms can feel confident as they keep breastfeeding.
But that's usually mom's number one worry.
The other concern that we see a lot of is breast pain.
So if you're...
You know, some pain initially as you start breastfeeding is somewhat normal,
but shouldn't necessarily be tolerated.
And so troubleshooting with mom, why they're having discomfort.
And I know yesterday, there was a little chat about the latch,
about kind of working on getting good latch in those first few days is really helpful to avoid more breast
pain down the road.
- Yeah.
So what do you tell those patients about if they're worried that their baby isn't getting enough milk?
How can they kind of work through that?
- Yeah, so we will track baby's weight.
And there's a lot of frequent visits in those first few weeks to track that.
And if there's any signs that maybe we're not quite hitting the milestones yet,
we'll just have baby come in sooner.
And then we have mom and dad keep track of your feedings and your wet and poopy diapers.
And that really can help give us some reassurance of where the baby is at and...
But lots of times, there's some extra nurse visits where the nurse will see the baby and weigh the baby
and then we give feedback in.
That's something to know as a pediatric patient is you can always get your baby's weight checked and some
feedback from your doctor about how their weight is looking so that you know that you're
on track with breastfeeding.
- Yeah, that's great to know.
- Yeah.
- So some moms we know can run into issues with clogs and engorgement,
how can they handle those situations?
- Yeah, so the answer...
Sometimes you're really uncomfortable with those symptoms, and there can be some pain with them.
They're not common.
But the best alleviation for it actually is just nursing more and getting the breast emptied.
So feeding the baby usually is the best way to go about it, but sometimes pumping can help too if your baby is
not hungry, and you're uncomfortable, just going ahead and pumping.
So having a pump is helpful in case you need it when you're breastfeeding.
And then sometimes...
There are videos out there about hand expression.
And so hand expression while you're pumping can be helpful to make sure that all the parts of the breast
are getting adequately drained when you're pumping or feeding your baby.
- Right. And then the next issue that some moms face is mastitis.
So what should parents watch for when it comes to that condition?
- Sure.
So mastitis and a clogged duct can be kind of at the same at first.
It can be just a part of the breast is really tender.
It will feel like a really sensitive bruise.
But it's more concerning that it's turning into infection, which is mastitis.
Most women may not even notice anything necessarily in their breasts, and they may just start running fevers
and feel achy, so like a flu-like illness.
But the breast can get warm to touch in that area.
It can get red.
And so those would be signs that it's infection and not just a clogged duct.
- So would you say just go ahead and call your pediatrician as soon as you start noticing some
of those signs?
- You can always reach out to us.
But if mom has symptoms, she may need an antibiotic to treat that infection.
And her gynecologist or obstetrician is the one that's going to write that prescription and they're very used
to these phone calls.
These are common phone calls to the pediatrician and the obstetrician.
- Great.
So what kind of support does Boys Town Pediatrics in specific offer to help mom and new baby when it comes
to these breastfeeding problems?
- Yeah.
So pediatricians, by and large, are pretty familiar
with breastfeeding and troubleshooting.
So we are ready to help you troubleshoot and answer questions.
But lactation counselors and consultants can be really helpful as well.
And we have lactation counselors so they can meet and look at the latch and troubleshoot if you're having a
hard time getting the baby to the breast or what the baby is doing at the breast if you don't feel
like feedings are going well.
Some of our pediatricians do that as well.
And then, we can help you find resources in the community for more breastfeeding support,
if it's indicated, or if you have a specific issue that's adding extra struggle
to your breastfeeding journey.
- Yeah.
And especially in Omaha, we have a great network of lots of different partners,
like you said, who can help with any of these issues.
So I do want to mention also for moms who are expecting who maybe don't have a pediatrician selected yet,
Boys Town Pediatrics does offer free meet-and-greets with our pediatricians.
So if you would like to get a jumpstart on building that relationship before baby is born,
I will make sure to leave a link in the comment section.
And you can set one up with Dr. Zimmer or any other of our pediatricians and kind of get back going
before baby arrives.
So we've talked about some common breastfeeding problems.
And I know if you're watching, you might be feeling anxious or nervous about the ones
we've talked about.
But we want you to know that this is all simply just awareness of things that can happen during your
breastfeeding journey and how Boys Town Pediatrics can help.
So Dr. Zimmer, do you have any final words of advice for breastfeeding mothers that may be nervous about it?
- Yeah.
Somebody gave me the advice before I had my first child to kind of...
If you want to breastfeed, try and commit to the first two weeks because you'll
feel a lot different after the first two weeks because there is some troubleshooting in the first two weeks.
So I try and give parents that goal.
But, you know, every baby and every mom is going to be different.
And that journey is different for everyone.
And I feel like breastfeeding, we really advocate for it because it's
healthy for baby.
It's healthy for mom.
But if you are struggling with breastfeeding or breastfeeding isn't going the way you wanted it to,
it is no reflection of what kind of mother you are.
So we're here to help you make it work, but if it doesn't go the way you wanted it to,
you shouldn't feel bad about that.
I think that's the right mindset too to go into breastfeeding is you give it your best shot.
And it is more work than some women realize.
Some women, it goes great and goes even better than they are expecting.
So just being ready for what it throws at you and know that the pediatrician is there trying to help you get
through it and we'll make sure baby does just fine.
- Definitely.
And if you are watching this video and haven't had a chance to watch the previous lives that we did Monday
through Wednesday, they are linked in our Facebook event for Breastfeeding Basics.
So I will also copy that into the comment section after we log off here.
Please make sure that you join us tomorrow for our last video with Dr. Zimmerman.
We're going to be talking more about individual breastfeeding journeys and how they can be helped
with Boys Town and kind of just overarching everything we've talked about this week.
So if there are any breastfeeding questions that you have that haven't been answered,
feel free to comment them on this video, send them to our page,
or reach out however is best for you so we can get them answered tomorrow.
Dr. Zimmer, thank you so much for joining us.
We really appreciate your time today.
And to everyone watching, have a great rest of your day.
- Yeah, you too.
- Thanks.