Thirsty babies

[CheshireVal]

I'm not one to usually start threads like this; there have been a zillion hurricane threads posted here over the past few days.....

... but I was just watching the news and am absolutely heartbroken. These little babies in New Orleans, out in the heat, with their mouths hanging open, obviously thirsty. I actually cried about it. And I'm not one to cry easily over news stories. :guilty:

This is America. How can this happen?

These poor, desperate people. My heart is aching for them.

:guilty:

[Danvers]

I know just how you feel. It's sickening.

[WebmasterAlex]

How can it happen? In America?

Simple, with all our high tech and all our instant gratification we are no match for mother nature

[Lisa loves Pooh]

You know---some of the moms....I want to reach through the screen and say nurse!!!
I know it won't be much---but that would be better than nothing.

Also---I remember a story a while back--a stranded mom and her baby somewhere...she nursed until she went dry and then fed her baby some of her blood. I know it sounds gross---but don't you wish you could reach through and offer any kind of survival technique to help these babies.

[CheshireVal]

I wonder, though... I'm not a mom (yet), so I don't know much about these things. If a woman hasn't had food or water, would she be able to nurse?

[mtblujeans]

....Simple, with all our high tech and all our instant gratification we are no match for mother natureAmen! We're no match for ALOT of things and we need to stop thinking we are invincible and make things better on our world.....in alot of areas and alot of ways!

[mtblujeans]

I wonder, though... I'm not a mom (yet), so I don't know much about these things. If a woman hasn't had food or water, would she be able to nurse?She would for awhile. The nursing would take water and nutrients from her body until she does not have much to spare and then her milk would start drying up. A lack of sleep/rest and stress will make milk production start to dry up, too.

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I wonder, though... I'm not a mom (yet), so I don't know much about these things. If a woman hasn't had food or water, would she be able to nurse?


Well most of these babies are probably formula fed--but suckling can stimulate milk production to get something which is better than nothing.

At this point--some of those babes need IV's I would imagine.

[CheshireVal]

:(

I just hope that everyone gets water-- all they can drink-- soon.

[Danvers]

:confused3

[tevagirl]

Those poor people. It is heartbreaking.

[kimber79]

I'm not one to usually start threads like this; there have been a zillion hurricane threads posted here over the past few days.....

... but I was just watching the news and am absolutely heartbroken. These little babies in New Orleans, out in the heat, with their mouths hanging open, obviously thirsty. I actually cried about it. And I'm not one to cry easily over news stories. :guilty:

This is America. How can this happen?

These poor, desperate people. My heart is aching for them.

:guilty:

My heart aches too.......what I wonder is where are all the *stars* at now?? I mean when the tsunami hit ~ they were there with their million dollar donations.....but now where are they?? I saw that Celine Dion donated a million ~ thank you Celine! Not that the people devastated by the tsunami didn't deserve the donations....but help our fellow Americans out for peet sake.

I can hardly stand to watch television anymore ~ it just rips my heart out to see. I cannot even fathom what these people are going through. My heart goes out to all those affected.

[Independent]

Somehow, I don't think wanting to stay alive can be considered instant gratification. There is absolutely no excuse that water and food is not being airlifted/air dropped to those people at the convention center. The authorities know they are there. Heck, we air drop shipments of food and water to remote & inaccessible areas in third world countries all the time - so we have the know how.. There is absolutely no excuse that four days later these babies are dying. Not in our supposedly high tech, instant gratification, modern civilization.

But according to the news - if you are not at the Superdome, you can't get help. You have to be where "the busses are."

It is absolutely shameful in our high tech, instant gratification world.

[Free4Life11]

That is ridiculous....do the refugees even know where the busses are?

[Independent]

My heart aches too.......what I wonder is where are all the *stars* at now?? I mean when the tsunami hit ~ they were there with their million dollar donations.....but now where are they?? I saw that Celine Dion donated a million ~ thank you Celine! Not that the people devastated by the tsunami didn't deserve the donations....but help our fellow Americans out for peet sake.

There is a big concert tomorrow night on NBC for Hurricane Relief efforts. So far Wynton Marsalis, Aaron Nevel, Harry Connick Jr, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are the headliners. There are others the news said.

The Dave Matthews band has added a 4th concert at Redrocks Amphitheater in Denver - the 4th concert solely to raise funds for Katrina relief.

The stars are organizing much faster than our government.

[CheshireVal]

Where is this money going to go, though? If the government says that "they can't get supplies in," what good is the money? It's not like Harry Connick Jr can just fly a plane and drop in the supplies himself, you know?

I just can't stand the thought of these people suffering in the heat and in disgusting, deplorable, inhumane conditions. It's not just the people outside the Superdome... the people who went there, too. There have been rapes, dead bodies are strewn about, there are no toilets.... and they're getting very few rations of food and water.

I know that logistically it's hard to get supplies in, but come on. Why aren't the empty busses pulling up to the Superdome being filled first with water and food?

[suzannews]

I have cried all day watching the news. They showed Harry Connick Jr touring downtown NO but he didn't bring any water or food with him?! He is having a concert tomorrow night for hurricane relief but these people needed food and water yesterday. I would love to just load up my car with all the water it would hold and drive till I got there.

[roger_ramjet]

I'm kind of glad I haven't been home to watch much of the news for reasons like this....

[babar]

I have cried all day watching the news. They showed Harry Connick Jr touring downtown NO but he didn't bring any water or food with him?! He is having a concert tomorrow night for hurricane relief but these people needed food and water yesterday. I would love to just load up my car with all the water it would hold and drive till I got there.

Isn't it just so damn frustrating? I hate it. I hate that I want to help out soooooo bad, someway, and there is just nothing I can do but donate food, clothes, and some money.

And all of my friends feel the same. I hate this.

[Lil_Tink]

:sad: :sad2:

[WeluvDisney2]

All the water bottling companies should be shipping huge donations of bottled water. Coca-Cola, Pepsi Co., all of them! How can any of these huge companies with the means to do so not be sending shipment after shipment of water by helicopter? It could just as well be their own families going through this. :sad1:

[MidNite]

I don't know what to say. I've been crying off and on all day, every time they show a suffering child I lose it. Why can't they parachute in water? It makes no sense.

My husband made a good point. He said why didn't they just get a lot of freight trains and load all the people going to the Superdome into them and get them the heck out before Katrina hit?

[Free4Life11]

I just can't stand the thought of these people suffering in the heat and in disgusting, deplorable, inhumane conditions. It's not just the people outside the Superdome... the people who went there, too. There have been rapes, dead bodies are strewn about, there are no toilets.... and they're getting very few rations of food and water.

I know that logistically it's hard to get supplies in, but come on. Why aren't the empty busses pulling up to the Superdome being filled first with water and food?

You know I saw images on MSNBC tonight that made me cry....I am young man and I don't cry often. I was shocked, SHOCKED.

It's totally unfathomable and unbelievable.

The babies...seeing images of STARVING, THIRSTY babies?? Oh my God, you could see their eyes....they looked LIFELESS, literally it looked like the life was draining out of them....

[ZachnElli]

You know---some of the moms....I want to reach through the screen and say nurse!!!
I know it won't be much---but that would be better than nothing.

Also---I remember a story a while back--a stranded mom and her baby somewhere...she nursed until she went dry and then fed her baby some of her blood. I know it sounds gross---but don't you wish you could reach through and offer any kind of survival technique to help these babies.


I knew this someone would say this. Let's not blame the moms right now. If they were nursing and had run out of food and water and especially in that heat, they would have dried up right away. I think you are thinking of the woman who was stranded in a snow storm for 3 days. Her milk did dry up and she fed the baby melted snow. And even eating melted snow didn't continue her milk supply.

[Rowena]

All the water bottling companies should be shipping huge donations of bottled water. Coca-Cola, Pepsi Co., all of them! How can any of these huge companies with the means to do so not be sending shipment after shipment of water by helicopter? It could just as well be their own families going through this. :sad1:

It hasn't been reported, as it wasn't done for publicity, and with the large area of those affected, it may never reach NO, but Anheiser Busch did send fleet of trucks loaded with water to the south.

I am wondering about Amtrak. Even if the line is broken, it used to move at least two ways from NO. Could they not load a train with water and food in, then move people out? Both ways? Or where is Greyhound? Could they not do similar?

[luvthatduke]

Oh man, I really didn't want to open this thread..
I am trying not to vomit as I watch some of the
footage and read the online news (we have limited cable).
You are all so right about what the babies look like,
their eyes, oh Lord, their eyes!
I lost it when the woman said how she gave
her newborn (2 month?) baby to a stranger that
was able to get on a bus and asked her to take care of the baby *gulp*.
And the children from the hospitals...................
Please God, hear our cries!

[Tasha+Scott]

I can't stand to watch the news or even read threads like this right now! It breaks my heart and I can't help but cry! I have a 4 month old and I can't imagine being in a situation where I couldn't feed my poor baby! I can't even type this without crying! I want so badly to help all these people but I know I don't have the resources to do much! I agree that with all of the big companies and celebrities why isn't more being done?! I really can't stand this! My heart and prayers go out to all of those who are suffering right now...especially those innocent babies and children! :guilty:

[swilphil]

My husband made a good point. He said why didn't they just get a lot of freight trains and load all the people going to the Superdome into them and get them the heck out before Katrina hit?

Are the train tracks even usable or are they under several feet of water?

[Free4Life11]

I just saw another shocking image...

They showed a diabetic patient on ABC...been without insulin for 3 days. While she was on camera saying "I don't want to die like this" she screamed and collapsed...There was a nurse Cindy Davis there who started screaming "WE NEED REGULAR INSULIN!!" And miraculously, some appeared....I hope that woman survives. :(

[bettyann29]

I am so sad over this whole thing... I cant understand why they wont (notice I didnt say cant) airdrop food and water to these people.. Why are they not trying to get them out of there?? It almost makes me wonder if the government is not wanting these people to survive :confused3 :confused3
My heart breaks just watching this on tv.. You always see in the news where they are doing drills to be prepared for another terrorist situation, but they dont know how to take care of survivors of a hurricane? Doesnt make sense to me.. These people are not going to survive much longer, as it is there are already people dying.. Whats sad is Im sure these people think that everyone has just forgotten they are there.. I hope they all live to tell their story!

[2angelsinheaven]

This situation is so terribly sad. I can't understand how this is happening, what a mess. I hope that these children and their parents, etc get through this alright. Here goes my rant, Bush get off your butt and do something, I'm sure in a country as large as we are and as rich (heck we send billions overseas) we can come up with something to right this wrong.

[bettyann29]

It hasn't been reported, as it wasn't done for publicity, and with the large area of those affected, it may never reach NO, but Anheiser Busch did send fleet of trucks loaded with water to the south.

I am wondering about Amtrak. Even if the line is broken, it used to move at least two ways from NO. Could they not load a train with water and food in, then move people out? Both ways? Or where is Greyhound? Could they not do similar?

I dont think its a situation where they cant.. I dont think they are getting clearance to bring it there.. not sure though

[Free4Life11]

And even those that survive....I am sure many, especially the children, will have psychological issues to deal with...Just imagine being a young with no food or water for days surrounded by people screaming, crying, dying....these are images they will never forget. Even the things I have see on TV are upsetting me greatly.

[2angelsinheaven]

And we safe at home have yet to see the half of it, I'm sure it's well worse than anything that can be showed on T.V. God Bless those there and hopefully things get better, I'm a wreck myself thinking of how terrible it must be I can't even begin to imagine how hard this is on those there. It reminds me of watching things that happen in 3rd world countries "in other places, that will never happen here..."

[Free4Life11]

I know. It upsets this much and we just see it on a 20" screen. It's definitely much worse than they can show. It's horribly upsetting...I am young and shocked to see these things happening in my country.

[LindsayDunn228]

I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but in addition to being saddened by seeing this, I am also angered. These people had the SAME chance to get out like many others and chose not to. And yes, I realize there are some who couldn't leave for whatever reasons, but a lot of them decided simply not to evacuate. I just want to scream at them, "Was it worth staying for?! Look at your babies!!!"

I know, not a popular opinion.

[bettyann29]

Alot of people did simply choose not to evacuate.. but MANY had no means to leave.. There are many poor people there.. Yesterday was the first and many people would not be getting any money until the first.. Many people there dont have a car or a way of getting around.. I think they should have bussed people out when they knew it was headed that way and there wouldnt be nearly as many people there as there is now.. I think you're right though.. There still would have been people who would have simply refused.. I dont guess they really thought it was going to be this bad.. :confused3 Many people did what they were told and went where they were told to go.. Im sure they thought they'd have food and water at least, but only to find out theres nothing.. or at least very little..

[CheshireVal]

Also, even if they did have cars and could get away, a lot of them really had no place to go. No family to stay with, no idea of where to find safe shelters.

A lot of people just can't afford to stay in a hotel for an indeterminite amount of time. I think a lot of people looked at their finances, knew they couldn't afford to leave, and took a gamble. I'm sure they regret that now-- hindsight is 20/20. :(

[swilphil]

The news reported that 100,000 people in NO relied on public transportation and had no cars. Did officials provide any kind of bus service out of NO when they initially called for the evacuation?

[PaulaSue]

Ditto on why they can't food and water drop more items. IF the helicopters can fly there to take pictures why can't they be dropping supplies. Ditto on why the busses are pulling up empty, they could be filled to the brink with supplies and then take the people out of there.

IT is a big waste of time and people have been going though this hell. Life is so not fair. :( Really makes me sad to think this is the nation we live in. I just cry thinking of all the children.

[WeluvDisney2]

It reminds me of watching things that happen in 3rd world countries "in other places, that will never happen here..."
My thoughts exactly! :worried:

[luvthatduke]

I do agree somewhat with the "why didn't they leave"
but I have learned several things this week
(like others here have posted):

*As others said, these 10's of thousands of people
who didn't leave are extremely poor. They did not
have any - repeat any - way out if it was not provided for them.
I remember the decision finally coming from
the Mayor to get some buses together and get some
people out, but like most of the "coordination" it was too little too late.

*If they did leave the city, they had no cash, no money,
no ATM card to get money to even begin to find temporary housing.

*I learned last night that the city officials apparently knew
there was in the neighborhood of over 10,000 disabled people
living in the poor neighborhoods and surrounding areas of the city.
Basically, if no one went and got them then they had no way out.

*I saw a first-hand interview with an older man from NO,
who did evacuate when first called to, and he and his wife
are thankfully now safe and dry away from there.
But he tried to explain to the reporter that many people
didn't really "choose to ride it out", he believes many people
remembered the widespread looting that occurred after
minor hurricans in recent years and they were frightened
to lose what meager possessions they have (had).

*Two hospitals were totally forgotten about, one of them across
the street from the University Hospital that was able to
evacuate close to 1,000 patients. Yet a doctor at the public hospital
that was one of the forgotten could not get through to the
Mayor or the Governor's office to tell them that they had over 100
patients needing rescuing, including himself and the medical staff.
I believe this was the doctor that was under fire from sniper.
Instead, this doctor finally called the Associated Press and begged for help.


My point is that if gov't officials can forget 2 hospitals,
how in the world can they be trusted to evacuate their residents?

[floridafam]

This was on Enfamil's website

www.meadjohnson.com/katrina_relief.html

My DD wouldn't nurse after 2 weeks but you can bet I would try if I was in the situation some of those people are in.

I did see a lot of moms saying their milk was the only thing keeping these babies alive.

I feel very lucky to be able to stock up on baby formula, food, diapers, etc and get out of town if there is a hurricane coming.

[bgirldeb]

I personally think trying to START nursing when you're already dehydrated is not going to do very much.

On the topic of children, this story really got me today:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/09/01/Katrina.superdome.ap/index.html

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- At the front of the line, the weary refugees waded through ankle-deep water, grabbed a bottle of water from state troopers and happily hopped on buses that would deliver them from the horrendous conditions of the Superdome.

At the back end of the line, people jammed against police barricades in the rain. Refugees passed out and had to be lifted hand-over-hand overhead to medics. Pets were not allowed on the bus, and when a police officer confiscated a little boy's dog, the child cried until he vomited. "Snowball, Snowball," he cried.
:sad:

And these people, the majority of them, had NO means to leave or time to leave. The mandatory evacuation order was given at the last minute. There should have been shelters set up out of harms way days before, and buses to get people out to these destinations BEFORE it hit, so people could have transportation and a safe destination. New Orleans itself dropped the ball first on its disabled and poor citizens. Then the state and federal government did as well. The danger of a hurricane hitting New Orleans has been known for years and years. Its just that no one (city officials) saw the need to be prepared for it. Now innocent children are paying the price.

[mickeysaver]

It's killing me too. I work in a pediatric medical office. When I got home, my partner and I were discussing this mess. She told me that there was a woman on the news that thought that her child was just sleeping and it turned out that the infant was dead from dehydration. This whole situation is just so horrific. This is not supposed to be happening in my back yard. America is supposed to be better than this. I am really ticked off about the way this all has been handled. I just fail to see how there could be such a huge breakdown in all these systems. I know the scope of the damage is huge.....don't get me wrong, I can see that there are millions without homes, jobs, loved ones, medical care, food, water, and all in some form of mental stress. I just can't imagine that there could not have been/still be a better way to handle all of this.

I am very disappointed in my country's ability to care for it's people right now.
Maggie

[luvmy2sams]

I am very disappointed in my country's ability to care for it's people right now.
Maggie

::yes:: I can't even begin to wrap my brain around this. How in the world could this happen in America? I am so angry...so sad...and I'm not personally affected. I can't begin to imagine the mountains these poor people have before them still. God bless them all.

[flminivanmama]

emergency breastfeeding resources
http://lalecheleague.org/emergency.html

studies have shown that the composition of breastmilk is essentially the same for all women regardless of their diets, including for women in famine conditions, such as those that existed in Africa in the 1980s

also don't forget how unsafe the water is right now & diarrhea is one of the leading causes of deaths for infants worldwie already.

it is worth it to try to relactate, especially if the baby is younger than 3 or 4 months


:(

[Tasha+Scott]

I guess I am confused about the whole relactating thing. What if the mother never breastfed to begin with and has a 3-4 month old? Is she able to suddenly start breastfeeding? If her milk has been dried up for several months will that actually work? And would a baby that has only ever used a bottle take to nursing easily? I am seriously just wondering. I didn't realize that was possible for a mother that never bf and had a dried up supply. It's possible that those mothers don't know that either. You can bet if I was in that situation and someone told me that I would sure as heck give it a shot. Anything is worth trying to save your child. But again, they probably don't know that. I doubt any of them would willingly starve their children. I am actually glad that I read that about bfing b/c I'll know what to try in an emergency situation if I have a young infant and a dried up supply. Something would be better than nothing.

[kbkids]

Are the train tracks even usable or are they under several feet of water?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/kbkids/MVC-010S.jpg

My DH works for CSX. It will be quite a while before the tracks and bridges can be repaired to allow traffic through. DH is even having to relocate temporarily from here in Pensacola until that time because very little traffic will be coming through our area because of this.

As far as evacuating the people out with the trains before the storm, traffic was halted early Sunday morning to allow for the preparation that had to be done to the levies and bridges for the storm. Up until that time, they were busting their cans to get all of the toxic chemical cars out of the city. Trust me, you would not have wanted people traveling on the same trains that those chemicals are on. Nor would it have been pretty if those cars had been left in the city. Those explosions and the resulting fumes would have been deadly.

[laurie31]

I guess I am confused about the whole relactating thing. What if the mother never breastfed to begin with and has a 3-4 month old? Is she able to suddenly start breastfeeding?

Yes :flower:

Even adoptive mothers are able to breastfeed if they choose. :goodvibes

Laurie

ps - I know it's not all that simple and there are women who want to b/f and can't...but in general, any woman can breastfeed.

[Tasha+Scott]

Yes :flower:

Even adoptive mothers are able to breastfeed if they choose. :goodvibes

Laurie

ps - I know it's not all that simple and there are women who want to b/f and can't...but in general, any woman can breastfeed.
Thanks! I truly did not know that! I am guessing most of the mothers that are/were stranded in NO didn't know that either. That is definitely something I think more women should be educated on in case of emergency. I read several bfing books and even took a class and never once saw that mentioned. I do think that it is important to know for situations such as this one.

[gabbysmom04]

I wonder how long it takes to get milk to come in. I stopped breastfeeding for a little over a month when my daughter was five months old. I felt so guilty that I tried to make myself produce milk again I pumped and tried to get her to nurse all day long. To be honest there was nothing coming out after over a week . And I had food and water and did not have the stress these poor women do. I am not saying they should not try, I sure would. It breaks my heart to see these babies. I look at my DD1 and cannot imagine that pain.

[katerkat]

Honestly, I'm surprised that they would be able to nurse. If I don't drink enough water, my supply drops - and I stay inside in the AC all day. In the conditions that most of these women are in, well... :(