EFF in a “Baby-Friendly Hospital” - how to prepare?

[pringles24]

@herooftheday I gave birth in March in a baby-friendly hospital and we were EFF from the start, and can help answer #3! Skin to skin was super important to me, and all we had to do was remind the OB that was our goal. Baby landed on my chest immediately and we snuggled for about an hour while I was stitched up, they took some quick vitals from baby and then right back to my chest she went. Once we got settled into our room following delivery, she stayed with me skin to skin. Baby was born at 4pm, and the nurses brought in some ready to feed formula and walked us through her first feeding at 7pm.

Even if you need to bring your own bottles/formula, I’d imagine the nurses will help remind you when it’s time for baby’s first meal!

 

[monosy]

@herooftheday I had a planned c-section at a Baby Friendly hospital and this was my experience:

1. We brought our own formula just in case, but never had to use it. They were great about bringing us more when we needed and even gave us some to take home.
2. I just told them when I checked in that I was EFF and that was that. I did mention I needed medications, and they didn't pressure me. When I did get asked, I was cheerfully firm and they didn't push.
3. I didn't do skin-to-skin. My boyfriend held her and gave her a bottle in the room where they took me to wait for the spinal to wear off. They gave him the bottle to do so and helped me sit up when I wanted to.
4. There was no well baby nursery at our hospital, so we did it all. I've heard the nurses will sometimes take the baby if you need a break, but I felt weird about asking, so I'm not sure.

 

[lynlovesgod]

@herooftheday

1. You don’t need to do that as long as they’ll provide formula. I checked ahead of time with me OB. The nurses at the hospital made sure we had RTF bottles and nipples stocked in our room at all times!
2. I discussed with my OB ahead of time when we planned my induction that I was planning to EFF. She put a note in my chart indicating this on top of the birth plan I had written down. The nurses at the hospital confirmed and I never got education on BF!
3. We did delayed cord clamping and they put little guy on my chest right away. After he got examined they gave me a bottle to feed him within the first hour.
4. We roomed in by choice but I was offered to use the nursery. Babe wound up going to the NICU for a night after being taken to the nursery for his 24 hour assessment where his oxygen levels were a bit low. Hubs and I got like 6 hours of sleep so if you’re able to take advantage I would (we felt guilty since they had taken him to NICU but it was just for obs). In hindsight I would’ve let them take him for maybe a couple hours after labor as I was totally exhausted. I hadn’t slept well the night before and gave birth around 130A so had been up for awhile. Though that being said I was not super stoked about being away from baby but a few hours would’ve been nice that first night!

 

[romansonetwentytwo]

@herooftheday I exclusively formula fed from day 1. When I got to the hospital they asked which I was choosing and I told them. The minute the baby popped out there was no question they gave me ready to feed formula bottle and told me how to use it and how much baby would need. Absolutely no pressure no embarrassment etc. i also told my doctor both times I gave birth that I’m formula feeding not breast feeding, leading up to birth and it was never questioned at all. As for skin on skin totally doable. They still offer you if you want to do skin on skin right after birth and Even my husband did it. Also they have a nursery per se more like a nurses station and I told them I was so exhausted and they kept baby and fed baby for 6 hours at night so I could get sleep (with both children) It was glorious and I felt so refreshed. Also the nurses told me they loved taking care of baby because most people keep their baby in their room with them the whole stay. Either way I’m not the type to be guilt tripped and I never ever felt that way one bit.

 

[chapstevesock]

@herooftheday Bring your own ready to feed bottles. I still did skin to skin right after birth, just didn't give him a boob. Be prepared for a lot of lactation consultants to be coming in and unfortunately making you feel like crap. You and your partner will need to be strong and honestly, don't be afraid to tell them off if you need to. A lot of them like to overstep and that's the last thing you need. Baby will eat very small amounts at a time for the first few days. Likely only 1 oz or so. My hospital did not have a nursery for either of my kids so we had to room in. If you have the option, definitely take it. I got much less sleep while in the hospital than I did while home with a newborn. You'll have nurses coming in constantly all hours of the day/night and many times I had just gotten baby down and someone would come in and flip lights on and make noise which would wake baby up. A nursery would've allowed me to actually rest and heal.

 

[marietjie1234]

@herooftheday I had a baby friendly hospital and they said for formula they provided was what WIC was doing. I think they have to. No one pressured me! I eff from day 1.

 

[katrina2017]

@herooftheday I had my son almost 9 weeks ago and eff from the start, it was the best decision I have ever made. With my daughter 5 years ago I bf for 5 weeks and it was literal hell and caused some ppd for sure.
Also, had a c sections and Still got skin to skin time while they stitch you up, still feel completely connected to my kids. I told them when I checked in I wanted to formula feed and was recommended to use the nursery. So every night around 11 the baby went to the nursery and came back at 7:30ish. Only one nurse was rude about the nursery. They never pushed me on breast feeding and it wasn’t talked about. Congrats and good luck!

 

[thecreationist]

@herooftheday I have no idea if my hospital was baby friendly, but there was no nursery, the baby stayed with you unless it was in the NICU. They were great about our decision to formula feed though. Never had an issue and they provided all the FTF formula I wanted and even sent us home with a bunch. We had a planned c section about 2 weeks early so there was no milk even if it had been an option for us.

 

[socalbeliever]

@herooftheday I would bring some ready to feed bottles with you. Mine gave them out only one at a time but it was a hassle to keep asking and waiting for it.

And my hospital was pretty stingy on offering the nursery. Only one nurse even offered and it was because she was kind of a friend of a friend and saw that I was struggling. Not one other nurse even said the word nursery.

 

[christianthatneedsyou]

@herooftheday I told everyone I talked to that I was formula all the way, for medical reasons. When I was in triage, I told the nurse "I do not want to nurse. I don't want to see the LC. Can you PLEASE make sure I'm not bothered or bullied into seeing the LC?" Despite telling numerous nurses before, there was nothing on my chart. But that was the last time that breast feeding came up! No visits from LC, no asking if I wanted to nurse, DH was ready to shut down the first person who tried but nobody mentioned it again!

 

[compassion4humanity]

@herooftheday 100% use the nursery - be polite but firm. We used it almost every night we were there. No shame - you are going to need to recover and need to get as much sleep as you can before you get discharged. And our hospital had RTF bottles and disposable nips. I was planning to combo feed (EFF as of week 5) but both babies were bad latchers. But from the beginning we gave them formula. When they admitted me they asked whether I was planning to ebf, eff, or combo feed

 

[barbara1970]

@herooftheday I delivered at a baby friendly hospital and EFF from the start, and I actually had a wonderful experience! I know a lot of women haven’t been as lucky as I have, but I wanted you to know that it isn’t all bad! My advice:

1. If you can, have your OB mark in your chart that you are not breastfeeding. My OB worked at the hospital I delivered at, so I am not sure what happens with a private practice or something like that, but in my case, she put in bold, red letters that I was formula-feeding due to private reasons we had discussed.
2. Call ahead and ask what to bring. In my case, the hospital provided everything. They had two different kinds of formula available, and asked what we wanted (I knew ahead of time what they had and that it was what I wanted to use). We didn’t have to bring bottles or formula. In fact, they sent us home with a TON of ready to feed.
3. I didn’t get skin to skin because I had some complications, but as soon as I got back from surgery to repair my tear, they gave my son to me and helped me start feeding him with a small bottle. The nurses were all amazingly helpful; I did not get one question or comment, and an LC was never even brought up. The nurses walked us through how much to feed him, when to feed, how to prepare formula…all of it.
4. We did do room in—I don’t know if there was an option to not do it (we wanted to room in) but I suspect not as they required us to be with our baby at all times (the only exception being his circumcision, which in normal circumstances we would attend, but being COVID, we didn’t)

Wishing you lots of luck and a healthy birth! FWIW my husband and I LOVE formula feeding. He got so much bonding time with baby too, I got some extra sleep and time to recovery, and now with our nanny and grandparents we are able to have some help feeding him. He is a smiley, growing, healthy, smart hunk of chunk

 

[millenniumfalcon]

@herooftheday

1. I didn’t bring anything. They provided as much Similac Pro Advance in RTF bottles that I wanted and they provided the nipples to screw right into the bottles. They was the formula I was planning to feed anyways. Even with a c-section, your hospitalization won’t be more than a couple days if everything goes routinely.
2. No specific approach. When I went in for my induction they asked if I planned on breastfeeding and I said “nope”. That was that. Nobody made a big deal about it or asked me again or applied pressure or even asked me why I wanted to EFF. A lactation specialist did stop by to say hi and explained that they do so much more than just breastfeeding and were available to me if I had any concerns about babies eating in general.
3. Skin-to-skin was the same for me with both kids. After delivery they put baby on your chest. Try not to overthink this part as it’s different for everyone and your nurses will help you know what to do. Your only job is to love your baby. With my second I was hemorrhaging blood so I couldn’t hold baby right away so baby was handed to my husband while they worked to stop the bleeding.
4. The baby friendly hospital I delivered both kids at didn’t have a nursery. Babies sleep A LOT in the beginning days and you won’t have the stress of trying to navigate breastfeeding so I didn’t feel sleep deprived in the hospital at all. Culturally it does seem the trend for hospitals across the US to be eliminating nurseries and they are becoming less common so you might feel pressured to keep baby roomed with you. And honesty, you might like having baby with you so just go with the flow here.

 

[fredruck]

@herooftheday I gave birth at a baby-friendly hospital and planned to EBF. Baby was born with low blood sugar so they quickly gave us RTF 2oz bottles and kept them coming. I also did see a LC, at my request, but also didn’t feel pressured to BF so I would say it really depends on the hospital and the specific staff on duty.

 

[tammy35]

@herooftheday i was asked what felt like a 1000 times whether or not i was breastfeeding or formula feeding by multiple members of the hospital.

my answer was always that i was going to try. at the end of the day i wish i didn’t try. it was stressful for no fucking reason. i didn’t realize how much hospital staff was pushing it until i got home. they recommend triple feeding and i think i lasted 4 hours. it’s bull shit and my only advice is that you be you’re own advocate and stick to your birth plan of not wanting to see one of the nipple nazis.

as for nursery time. i had to beg. i had an emergency c section and at that point had been up for well over 24 hours, and i just wanted to sleep for an hour. i basically had to bargain my sons foreskin for an hour of sleep.

use the nursery don’t let them make you feel bad for having a (possible) c section. that shit wiped me out for literally 3 days. the medication just fucking rocks you.

but yeah my son has been EFF since day one jn the hospital. most hospitals generally give you similac advance if you ask for formula. but imo just bring your own. and your own bottles. might as well start from the get with what your babe will be using. and ask them for soap to wash it. they have it.

 

[pearl24]

@herooftheday It really depends on the hospital. I delivered at a big urban teaching hospital where they see the whole gamut so they were not judgmental at all even though they were technically baby-friendly. At hospitals where the birthing parents are more homogenous and a demographic more likely to bf I feel like they push it more. They didn't really like sending babies to the nursery, though, I think because the hospital was cheap and didn't want to staff it.

Skin-to-skin: FYI I wasn't able to do it while getting a c-section so be prepared for that. My husband did it instead, but after the baby was cleaned, weighed, drops in eyes, etc., not like plopped right on the chest after coming out like some vaginal births.

 

[kchamb66]

@herooftheday Just realised I’m in the wrong group, this is nothing about the Formula 1 feeder series.

 

[greycat]

@herooftheday I had a c-section at a baby friendly hospital. I am EFF since day 1.
They provided formula no hesitation.
I asked for a pacifier and they brought one.
Skin to skin consisted of putting baby on my chest just to hang out haha
Baby had to room in with us, there was no nursery. Once a nurse took baby for a few hours bc I was so sore and sleep deprived so we could take a nap. However, we really liked that baby stayed with us the whole time. Before having baby I thought it was so weird not to have the nursery but it was like a crash course in parenting and helped my husband and Iearn and bond.

 

[summerxox]

@herooftheday Had my son at a baby friendly hospital in May and also EFF from the start. I didn’t have a birth plan or anything but they asked me when I was admitted if I was going to breast or bottle feed. I told them and they wrote it down on my whiteboard in the room and no one ever pressured me or tried to convince me to breastfeed.

They did skin to skin after the baby was born, while they were stitching me up. Probably for 30 minutes? Then they had to take him away because I was losing too much blood, they gave him to my husband and he gave him his first bottle. Not sure if I would have even been able to breastfeed if I wanted to given the situation. I didn’t feed him myself until the next morning.

They refused to give me a pacifier so I regretted not bringing one with me. I just thought that was something they would provide. Eventually the night nurse in the recovery area took pity on us and gave me one. They have them for NICU babies but won’t give them to other babies because it’s bad for breastfeeding, even though I wasn’t breastfeeding. So bring your own pacifier.

I didn’t bring formula, they provided as much as we wanted in those little RTF bottles. Even gave us a few packs to take home with us.

They wouldn’t take the baby to the nursery which sucked, they said they only had a nursery for NICU babies. I wasn’t able to get out of bed because of my blood loss and I was exhausted (I had to be induced so I’d been in the hospital for 24 hours already before he was born with very little sleep, and my husband as well had slept on the floor and was exhausted). It was rough. We had my MIL come to help us at the hospital, I was there for 3 days after the birth because of my complications and we had pretty much zero help once we left labor and delivery.

No one ever bothered me about breastfeeding or tried to limit my access to formula so my only complaints really are the pacifier thing and not having a nursery to send him to. They never sent a lactation consultant to me or even mentioned it.