Finding a Way
Breast milk is recognized as the best food for new babies. It is recommended that mothers breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of a baby’s life. At six months, babies are ready for other foods, but breastfeeding can continue until two years of age and beyond.
Passionate about the benefits of breastfeeding, Carolyn Davison was determined to breastfeed her new daughter, Mikaela.
Born in June 2009, Mikaela suffered from spontaneous congenital chylothorax, which caused fluid to build up in the lining around Mikaela’s lungs. Infants who have this condition are usually unable to use fats from their diet properly, which makes it difficult for their little bodies to gain the right nutrition unless they are given special formula with a different type of fat. The fats found in breast milk are necessary and are highly beneficial for healthy newborns, but they posed a dangerous risk for Mikaela until her condition improved.
Following a discharge and then readmission to the IWK’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), it seemed unlikely that Mikaela would be able to be nourished by her mother’s milk,but Carolyn was not ready to give up, and neither was her care team. IWK staff helped locate a centrifuge, a piece of machinery that enabled IWK staff to skim Carolyn’s breast milk so that Mikaela could receive its unrivaled nutritional benefits.
Following Mikaela’s recovery, she was able to return to normal breastfeeding and continued to be breastfed well into her second year.
The IWK is focused on being “breastfeeding friendly,” with efforts underway toward the goal of certification using the World Health Organization/UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) standards. Significant progress towards BFI designation is helping the IWK support women with breastfeeding, and contributes to the overall health and well-being of Maritime women, children and families.
Carolyn Davison, mother of former IWK NICU patient
“We wanted to breastfeed Mikaela, but it wasn’t as easy as we hoped it would be. We needed help to make what seemed like the impossible happen.
In the NICU, we were encouraged to participate in Mikaela’s care. Because we were able to be involved, we had support to find a way to keep Mikaela’s feeding as natural as possible. Participation helped us move forward because working with our care team allowed us to feed Mikaela with breast milk despite the complications, which was really important to us.”