Thursday, September 18, 2008

Colostrum harvesting and banking

I am extremely pleased to be able to announce the next online Elluminate meeting. This meeting will not only be of interest to midwives, but also anyone who has an interest in diabetes and/or breastfeeding. All are welcome.

Topic: Will antenatal colostrum harvesting and banking improve the chances of breastfeeding for a woman with diabetes?
Health professionals agree that exclusive or full breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby’s life will afford lifelong benefits against many diseases. However there is a group of babies who are frequently deprived of the opportunity to be exclusively or fully breastfed. The group of babies born to mothers with Type 1, Type 2 or gestational diabetes mellitus are frequently separated from their mothers as a result of mode of birth and concerns about infant hypoglycaemia. This presentation evaluates whether colostrum harvesting and banking might improve the chances of a woman with diabetes exclusively or fully breastfeeding.

Presenter
: Catherine Rietveld
Catherine has been a midwife for 28 years and during that time she has offered a range of maternal and child health services to the people of Canterbury, New Zealand. She has worked as a core midwife in both primary and tertiary units, independent midwife and was a Well Child nurse with the Plunket Society for 8 years. She is passionate about ensuring that all women and their families have the best possible access to maternal and child health services. It is this passion that is driving her to launch into the uncharted waters of antenatal colostrum harvesting an banking for women with diabetes.Catherine believes that in partnering with families she has a responsibility as a midwife to promote and protect their right to be in control of their lives. She also a mother, a musician, an alpaca farmer, a spinner and a secretary to her husband!! Variety is the spice of life after all!, says Catherine.

Date: Monday 29th September New Zealand

Time: 4pm NZ Check here to see international times

Meeting Link: http://elluminate.tekotago.ac.nz:80/join_meeting.html?meetingId=1219960009863


Just enter your name where it says 'user name'. You do not need a password

The meeting room is available from now so you can have a play with the technology before the meeting.

Using Elluminate
Please check here for more information about how to use Elluminate.

Need extra help?
Please contact me if you need help with setting up Elluminate. I strongly advise that you try out the technology before the meeting so that any problems can be ironed out and you don't miss the meeting.


Image: 'North Cornwall_Z18126' Ennor
www.flickr.com/photos/21222992@N00/247760215

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

This will be quite interesting. I am a 'rather passionate' individual in regards to cesarean prevention. I find myself horrified by moms who insist that they MUST have a cesarean for their birth, then tell me their doctors have informed them that breastfeeding will mess with their blood sugars too much. Just use formula.
POP!
That was my head exploding.

Sarah Stewart said...

Wow, I've never heard that one before. We're a lot more committed to breastfeeding here. We work hard to get ski-to-skin contact & feeding going asap after C/S.

Joy Johnston said...

Hi Sarah
I will plan to join in, and I have sent a message about the meeting to a couple of Australian midwives lists.
I have seen mothers become more confident about exclusive breastfeeding after they have expressed small amounts 5-20ml colostrum antenatally. One mother who had supplemented with formula by day 3 with her first 5 babies, and never achieved exclusive breastfeeding thereafter, found that her private milk bank gave her the confidence she needed with baby #6. She was so happy with this success, and told me that just knowing she had some milk in the fridge was enough to get over that big hurdle before her milk came in.

Sarah Stewart said...

That's a cool story, Joy-thanks. The other thing I have seen that 'saved' a 'bad' breastfeeding situation was wet nursing. A client of mine got extremely sore nipples and was on the verge of giving up breast feeding, but her sister (who had an older baby)fed the new baby for a couple of days. This gave the woman's nipples a chance to heal & then she resumed breastfeeding and went on for months.

If you or anyone else wish to try out the technology with me before hand, just let me know & I'll help you out.

Anonymous said...

I never claim that I live in a civilized birthing climate.
ugh.
Pop on by, I just put up the latest newspaper article about midwifery in my Province.
I have only met ONE diabetic mum who breastfed... I heard that Halle Berry did have a vaginal birth (Type One diabetic!) and that is the only one I could say I know of.
Big baby scare tactic I guess...
>=(

Lisa Barrett said...

This sounds really interesting. I birthed with a woman with type 1 diabetes earlier this year. She espressed antenatally in case her baby needed blood sugar support or she had complicatations during labour. She We had around 450ml collected from 33 weeks until she birthed at 39+5.

Sarah Stewart said...

I cannot wait to hear what Catherine say as well, Lisa. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense and your experience confirms that. What is the general feeling about milk banks in Australia these days?

hbacmama: how is your area doing with the implementation of 'baby friendly' initiative?

Anonymous said...

Went to be early last night.
Hope to have a snooze this afternoon too.
See you later in the afternoon (for you. Tonight for me!

Sarah Stewart said...

Look forward to seeing you, then I must get a date off you for your session on doulas.

Sarah said...

I am interested in learning more about antenatal colostrum harvesting, is there any robust evidence to support it?
Midwifery has to have an evidence base prior to promtion. We know through research colostrum is the best food source to stabilise baby's blood glucose levels. Are there any risks involved in antenatal harvesting i.e. could it cause early labour? Has any research been undertaken on psychological impact on the mother's, particularly those that have difficulty with expression. Is there any evidence to suggest damage to the tissues or ducts, caused by incorrect technique?

Sarah Stewart said...

Hi Sarah, I do not know of any research off the top of my head, but I do know if is accepted practice in some hospitals in Australia.