Thirsty babies

[WeluvDisney2]

It reminds me of watching things that happen in 3rd world countries "in other places, that will never happen here..."

My thoughts exactly!

 

[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.

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

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?

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

Even adoptive mothers are able to breastfeed if they choose.

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

Even adoptive mothers are able to breastfeed if they choose.

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...