HOLLAND, Mich. — August is National Breastfeeding month and one Holland mother of two is sharing her story of navigating through nursing challenges, something she's been able to overcome with help from Holland Hospital.
Ann McAlpine's second son Max was born on July 2, and the nursing experience so far has been significantly different from her first son, Philip.
“With my first born Philip, breastfeeding was more of a challenge, and I thought it would become something that was really natural and it'd be easy, but it's something that I noticed as I was going along, wasn't very easy for me,” McAlpine said at Holland Hospital Thursday.
As McAlpine faced difficulties, she noticed Philip wasn’t gaining weight as expected.
"As the weeks went by, I realized, 'Oh, he's not really gaining weight. Oh, I think he's losing weight. He kind of looks like an alien. This isn't good,'" McAlpine explained.
It was during this time that her husband realized they needed help.
“I cried and cried about it, because I thought I wasn't good enough, you know, like you fail as a parent. And so it took kind of a moment for me to be like, okay, something needs to change,” she said.
After making adjustments, including moving to primarily pumping, Philip is now a healthy older brother to Max.
“It's been a whole different ball game completely. And that is solely because I sought help,” McAlpine stated. "I didn't take that opportunity last time, and I regretted that. And in between boys, I remember thinking, I'm going to need a lactation specialist help."
It's help Sarah Moelker has been providing for the past 25 years at Holland Hospital as a registered nurse and certified lactation consultant.
"A latch made in heaven is a baby transferring milk. It is swallowing. That baby is taking long draws, not pacifier sucks. You have a mama that is comfortable, that is calm, that is confident, and that's what we're here to promote," said Moelker.
Moelker said there is an abundance of resources at the hospital for expecting mothers, such as the Breastfeeding Connections group.
"One of the nicest things that we can do to reassure moms who are anxious or fearful is that at support group, we can do what we call weighted feeds, where we would weigh max on a gram scale and then and would feed him, and then we'd weigh him again," Moelker explained.
Holland Hopsital's Breastfeeding Connections group is available for any mother, no matter their hospital.
“No matter if you deliver at home or if you delivered at another hospital, we are here to help. You can call our number. You can come to support group. It's free of charge,” Moelker advised.
McAlpine encourages mothers to take advantage of available resources: “If we’re all on our own island, it’s hard. And just like a skill or a sport, you really should get proper teammates, you know, or support group and coaching,” she said.
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