Grandmother “ dry-nursing” grandchild?

i find nothing wrong with this. It is a modern concept that a baby should only be fed by his or her mother - as has been said by many already.

I remember when my son (second child was born) that there was a first time mum on the ward who was having terrible trouble as her milk wasn't coming in and baby was screaming and miserable. The nurses kept putting the baby on the breast, until poor mum started to bleed.
I was always lucky in that my milk started coming in just before baby was born so I never had a problem. I would have happily nursed the poor baby, but didn't dare offer. . I was still young and quite shy at the time. with hindsight, I would feel no such qualms now, and would offer to help. How it would go down, I don't know.

She is a very young grandmother with a baby of her own.
I would say that if her daughter didn’t/doesn’t mind and it helps ,then so what? They are all closely related, in a ‘tribal’
Situation I doubt anyone would mind, so is it because this is a ‘civilised’ situation that makes people say yuk?

Although I never followed through and did this - the instinct was still there for me when I looked after my first grandchild. This was 16 years after I finished feeding my youngest! I think the instict to feed/comfort is very strong.

Me too BlueBelle

Witzend ....I think that story is wonderful. And if any mother says she wouldn't try anything to feed her starving baby she would be lying. I personally, don't find the original story horrendous either. Its nothing I have done but if it pacified a screaming baby...why not?

I have no problem with it and would do it myself . It's a darn site better IMO than a dummy or a bottle of formula .
I fed my 2 for 2 years which was the WHO advice at the time and would have happily helped out if needed by another mum/baby.

I have no issue with a baby being nursed by anyone for comfort.

I do think its a sad reflection upon our society, who seem to have forgotten the reason women have breasts...

Breasts have one function.. . to feed babies!

Sorry I think its odd, there is other ways to soothe a baby rather than Grandma putting it to her breast! eeewk!

She and I would definitely part company. What's the matter with a dummy, find it creepy, perhaps the whole family are.

I wonder what some of you would think of this story - I heard it on the radio years ago.

It was told in person, by an elderly woman who'd been completely snowed in, I think during WW2, with a very young baby - her breast milk had failed and she had nothing else to give the baby.

However, she had a German Shepherd dog that had recently had puppies. In desperation she put the baby to the dog, who was quite happy to oblige, and apparently it worked well enough until she was able to get out again. Understandably her memories of that dog were more overwhelmingly loving than they would have been anyway.

I don't see the problem with this and they're just lucky they can do it. I'm pretty sure it's common in many countries, although perhaps not in the West. I understand that in the US adoptive mothers who want to breastfeed are encouraged by their paediatrician. They have to start the preparations before they get the baby and they may have to supplement breast milk with bottles.

I think it's natural to soothe any baby in distress by breastfeeding and I certainly would do it.
Rather that than change a mucky nappy! ?

It is the Daily Record.
I would have thought dry nursing could be very uncomfortable for the person nursing even small babies have very strong sucks .
It would not have worried me feeding somone else's small baby I had plenty of milk and exported it to a milk bank.

Perhaps it is odd, Petra. I can't think of any reason why I would need to look at myself naked, as in standing in front of a mirror.

I've wet nursed a friend's baby so I'm easy with this. I guess the mother in this instance thought that she knew her daughter well enough to know it wouldn't be a problem to her - and she was right.

Franbern
What a lovely story Re the new born baby
MissAdvenure
i probably have issues
I gree with you there. I think it was you who said you hadn't seen yourself naked for years: that's odd.

When my DS had colic, he could not be soothed by feeding with breast or bottle (he was mainly breast fed).
He would completely refuse and carry on screaming.

When my youngest sister had her baby I had successfully breastfed my son for almost a year and had plenty of milk. My sister had hardly any milk for the first two or three weeks as was ill after the birth so she brought baby to me to feed when she ran out of milk often last feed before bed. After a couple of weeks she was better and produced more milk so fed her herself. I was happy to help out and alternative would have been to give her DD a bottle and then it is harder to get DD to breastfeed after bottle.

I can see no problem with it at all.

It does seem strange to frown about it, when the alternative is to feed a baby milk from another species! Breast feeding another persons baby seems fine, if everyone is happy with it. But dry nursing? Nope. Still gives me the shudders. I probably have issues.

Human breast milk is what is best for human babies. Does not really matter from whose breast it comes. I returned to fostering soon after I had stopped b.feeding my twins. One poor new -born baby arrived, not actually sickly, but definitely unhappy - I put him to my breast and his suckling brought my milk back again for him. He thrived and I enjoyed it. Fat better than formula!!!!
When same twins (both girls) had babies six months apart, they could and did happily breast feed each others baby when they were looking after them.
Problem is nothing to do with a grandmother breast feeding her g.child, it is modern societies perception of what human breasts are actually there for.

Having adopted Dd1 and gaining confidence, I did ask if baby no 2 could come to me straight from hospital at just a couple of days old. This was refused - not for any reason I could understand (birth mum having reservations?) but because the legal process couldn't start until the baby reached 6 weeks.
I'd happily have tried breastfeeding, given the chance, as I'd read that it was quite possible. In the 6 weeks that Dd2 was fostered, she'd been introduced to solids - Bird's custard with sugar!
10 years later the unexpected 'miracle baby' arrived and for 9 months was successfully breastfed.
I believe my sister and I might have 'swapped babies' if necessary but Mum? I think not - just as I wouldn't have done with my Dgc's!

Blimey I d feel dead funny if I came home and found my baby at my mothers breast and no I don’t know why exactly I must be weird but I gave my grandkids gripe water a dummy and lots of back rubbing if they had colic not an empty boob

She sounds a very sensible GM to me. It felt natural to her, it obviously felt natural to the baby. The baby was comforted, stopped crying and went to sleep. I can't understand what all the fuss is about.

To Baggs : yes indeed, in former times it was very common for grandmothers to breastfeed their grandchildren if f.i. their daugther or daughter in law died in childbirth or was too poorly to BF. Often they only had to put the infant to their breast a few times before milkproduction started up again. And of course as often as not an aunt, an adult sister or other mature female relative would help out if needed. Mind you, this was done only if that kind of help was required, in those days when formula didn't exist and the only other alternative to BF was cowsmilk or goatsmilk - and not everybody had those at hand. In rural areas this was a life-saver, whereas the use of a wetnurse by the rich was of course just for conveniance.