Family matters

by Johanna Bailey

September 5, 2011

When my younger son was four-months old he came down with the H1N1 flu virus and had to be hospitalized. As luck would have it, I too came down with the virus and was essentially bedridden for the better part of two weeks. This meant that I couldn't get to the hospital in order to breastfeed Luca. I tried pumping but as the days went by and I had less and less energy, I had to face the fact that I was losing my milk. Full of despair, I staggered to the hospital to see if there was something they could do to make me feel better. After being told that there was in fact, nothing they could do to decrease my misery, I began crying and then proceeded to have the following conversation:

Doctor: Why are you crying?

Me: It's just that I can't feed my baby and I think I'm losing my milk

Doctor (perplexed expression on face): Well how old is your baby?

Me: Four months

Doctor: Four months! Well what are you worried about then? Nearly all the babies in Spain are drinking formula by four months!

Me: It's just that in America they tell us we should do it for at least a year...

Doctor- (with total disbelief) REALLY?? Well that's not how it is in Spain.

No kidding.

Statistics show that although most Spanish women do initially breastfeed their babies, less than half are still doing so by the time their babies reach 6 months. The majority of Spanish mothers return to work by the time their child reaches 4 months old [maternity leave here lasts 16 weeks and 18 weeks for multiple births] and unlike in the US and the UK, there isn't much encouragement towards, or support for the idea of pumping in the workplace.

A few Spanish women do choose to breastfeed for the first year, but going beyond is seen as unusual, and even suspect. A friend of mine went so far as to actually lie to her pediatrician when asked if she had finally stopped breastfeeding her 18-month-old son because she was afraid of what he might say. That may seem extreme but considering that just a few months ago, Madrid social services took a 15-month old from her mother for three weeks due to her habit of breastfeeding on demand, perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea after all.

by Johanna Bailey

September 5, 2011

Latest Comments

  • breastfeeding

    Thanks for your comments! Just to clear one thing up (for Rebeca), the hospital my son was in DID allow me to breastfeed. The problem was more than I was so sick myself, that I wasn't able to stay with him in his room or even visit him more than once a day or so (which was in itself, a challenge since I could barely walk!).

    Posted by Johanna September 09, 2011 21:15:43

  • breastfeeding

    My pedriatician (Cap Rec Comtal) encouraged me all the way. I nursed my son for 2 years and a half, until he decided to stop and never had a problem. In fact, I encountered less sympathy in the US. I had to cover myself when nursing, something I never had to do in Barcelona.
    I do not know what kind of hospital wouldn't allow a nursing mother to breastfeed her child, especially when he/she is sick. I find that apalling. Maybe the protocol for that specific flu was different, but it certainly needs to be addressed.
    Another thing to improve is the fact that working mothers have it so difficult to continue nursing beyond the 4 months of "baja maternal". I believe that is the main problem, not the lack of information.
    And then, there is breastfeeding activism... I just do not like the proselitism. Women need to be free to choose whatever makes them feel more comfortable without being judged by others.

    Posted by Rebeca September 08, 2011 14:34:28

  • Pediatricians

    Great article. I just wanted to mention one other thing and that is that many pediatricians are not very knowledgeable about breastfeeding, although they dispense lots of advice anyway. So, if in doubt about anything, always check with a breastfeeding counsellor too.

    Posted by Tanya September 07, 2011 13:08:56

  • breast feeding

    Hi, Thank you for your article on breast-feeding. I have a 15 month old baby, whom still drinks breast milk as much as he wants. The general trend amongst my mommy peers is still breast-feeding, but I don´t see many locals breastfeeding that long.However, I do get many old ladies commenting that it is great that I am still breast-feeding and that it is the best thing for the baby.The culture of my home country is defiantly breast-feeding minimum 6months to 12 months. I think more information will help promote breast-feeding, which personally I think is great for the babies- they love it and my own body produces all he needs!

    Posted by breast-feeding is great! September 06, 2011 20:24:28

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