The Breast Whisperer
May 12, 2008
Nicknamed “the breast whisperer” by some clients, [Pat] Shelly, a registered nurse, has gained traction as breast-feeding has increased across the country. She is also part of a booming breast-feeding industry that in the past 15 years has given rise to specially designed pillows such as “My Brest Friend,” hands-free pumping bras and charm bracelets that keep track of a baby’s feedings.
Office appointments cost $85 an hour, with two free visits reserved each week for low-income families.
"I think every woman I know in this city has seen Pat," said Margaret Lidstone, 37, of the District, who has had two consultations with Shelly about her 4-month-old daughter, Maisie.
For Shelly, breast-feeding is less a business than a 25-year cause.
Her center is nonprofit, and many of its classes are free.
Her message: Breast-feeding may not always be easy, but it’s the healthiest option for babies’ development and immune systems, as well as for their mothers’ stress levels and improved protection against some cancers.
Getting that message out, she said, means battling the influence of well-financed formula companies, brief maternity leaves that allow little time for mother and baby to get in sync, workplaces with no place — or no time — for working mothers to pump and an American society squeamish about a woman’s breasts providing a child’s food.
When working with clients, Shelly is like a detective, ferreting out whether a problem hinges more on a baby who might have issues such as a small tongue or high palate or a mother with challenges such as a low milk supply.
"I look at mother and baby as dance partners, both physically and emotionally," Shelly said.
Clients have included breast cancer survivors, women who have undergone breast surgery and those who want to nurse their adopted babies (yes, it’s possible).
She also helps women with breast-feeding long-term, particularly after returning to work.
Government studies show that almost 75 percent of newborns are breast-fed, but that figure falls to 42 percent by six months and 21 percent at a year.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast-feeding exclusively for six months and then continuing, along with iron-rich solid foods, until the baby is at least 1.
"Women need a village, and we’re in a big city," said Shelly, 52, of Annandale, a self-described "earth mother" to two adult sons whom she breast-fed for two years.
"Some women don’t want to listen to their mothers when it comes to breast-feeding.
More than that, many clients say, they found in Shelly a cheerleader who withholds judgment.
"Breast-feeding is the most natural thing in the world, but it’s not natural for everybody," said District resident Erica Pressman, 37.
She saw Shelly when her daughter, Tali, now 4 months old, was losing weight at a few days old and again at 3 months, when she developed reflux.
"I have yet to find a friend who didn’t have some problem with breast-feeding," said Pressman, director of a philanthropic foundation.
"No one tells you that before [having a baby], so I think it takes a lot of us by surprise."
Naomi Barry-Perez, 34, said Shelly boosted her confidence when she needed it most.
Her baby, Emilio, now 4 months, had problems nursing from the start.
At the time, she said, she was battling postpartum depression and felt that "if I couldn’t breast-feed competently, I was a bad mother."
When she sought Shelly’s help at the six-week point, she said, she was feeding her son pumped breast milk from a bottle and supplementing with formula because the pediatrician had concerns about the baby’s weight.
Barry-Perez said Shelly found that the ligament beneath her son’s tongue was too tight, something a physician confirmed and fixed with a simple procedure.
She credits Shelly with helping her to breast-feed full-time.
"I went in hanging my head and saying, ‘I’m using formula,’ " said Barry-Perez, a lawyer by training who works for the U.S. Department of Labor.
"She said, ‘You’re doing the best you can do for your baby, and you should be congratulated for that.’
Unlike some hard-core lactation consultants, Pullman said, Shelly will work with a doctor’s wishes if a baby needs formula supplements to treat jaundice or significant weight loss, for instance.
Shelly noted that the stress of returning to work might be limiting Lidstone’s milk production or that Maisie, suddenly distracted by a growing interest in the world beyond her mother’s breast, might not be nursing as well.
- Source: D.C.’s ‘Breast Whisperer’, Washington Post, Apr. 27, 2008 — Summarized for you by Doctors Say…
