Millions of people tune in to watch the hit TLC show John and Kate plus 8, and the Discovery Channel’s The Duggars (Anna Duggar just had her 18th child). America is amazed by how these families do it, but never have they had to take care of more than six infants at once. Now, not only are people all over the globe shocked by the recent multiple births headline, but the medical world is blown away by what appears to be the first successful birth of octuplets. What I find most fascinating and inspiring, is that their amazing mother will be breastfeeding all eight of her newborn infants.
At present, five of the octuplets are being fed donated breast milk while their mother is pumping to save milk for all of her babies. The medical staff will help the mother learn how to express her milk so that they can store and give it to the infants. Each baby now weighs in at under 3 lbs each, so it is essential that they receive their mother’s breast milk to help their tiny bodies grow in strength, and to build up their digestive and immune systems. Mom and babies will gradually get used to breastfeeding, but will always be allowed to have skin to skin contact while the babies gain their strength. Such contact is another important necessity for their sustained health. (This is the typical recovery breastfeeding system for premature born infants).
When the new family is able to move home and they no longer have the extra helping hands, that is when the challenge will truly begin. Though it is not an official statement, odds are that this birth was brought on by artificial insemination. There is a logical reason why the human female body has two nipples and other mammals have multiple nipples to feed and sustain several offspring. There is no way around it, this will be a challenging road for the new family. But the end benefits such as bonding, using money otherwise spent on formula for other uses, the inherently eco-friendly nature of nursing, and the fact that breastfeeding typically burns 200-500 calories per day (that’s based on one baby) are worth the investment.
Once the babies are brought home, they will have put on more weight, they will be strong enough to latch on to the breast for feedings, and will already be accustomed to feeding from a bottle (hopefully BPA free). Thankfully, the lactation consulting the mother will receive at the hospital will prepare her for expressing milk at home. She will definitely need to express breast milk around 10-12 times per day so that she has extra milk stored for future use (breast milk can be refrigerated & frozen).
Above is a chart I created to give you an idea of what a typical day of breastfeeding octuplets may look like. Newborns generally feed anywhere from 8-12 times per day. Multiply that by eight, and the number of feedings that will take place in one day will be between 64-96 feedings. Wow, that is a lot! Obviously, it is physically and emotionally impossible to feed one baby at a time in this case. Thankfully, the mothers has her two breasts, both the mother and babies have their father, and perhaps other relatives or a postpartum doula to help out with daily routines. The family will need to create a system so that they are easily able to monitor and rotate each baby throughout the day so that each one gets to nurse at the breast at least once a day. It will be most beneficial if, in this case, the couple definitely have two live-in help aides, so that one aide can assist with breastfeeding and diapering and another can help take care of the parents.
Most likely, the mother will experience breast discomfort from engorgement. An economical and environmentally friendly way to mend this discomfort is by placing a Savoy cabbage leaf (scored at its stem) within each bra cup between feedings. I would also recommend that she consider drinking teas such as Organic Mothers Milk Tea, which helps promote and sustain milk lactation for nursing mothers. The new mother will also need to maintain her own nourishment and monitor her caloric intake in order to provide enough milk for her children while remaining in good health herself. It would be great if Discovery Health created a documentary on this mother’s breastfeeding journey. I wish this family all the best.
8 Responses to “Breastfeeding Octuplets: One Mother to Nurse 8 Babies!”
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Hi Danelle – What a great analysis of the practical aspects of the challenges this woman and hopefully “her crew” will face in breastfeeding. Makes one think! — breastfeedingmomsunite.com
Thanks so very much for this really great write-up, Danelle. As a mother of now 15 month old twins who are still being breastfed (at night as well), I really admire this new Mom’s dedication. Some folks thing that I am a bit crazy to still try to fit breastfeeding into my schedule, but the benefits have been well worth it.
Given that my babies were premies, I feel as if this has really helped them to catch up in terms of overall growth, weight, and outstanding health. They have had only one cold since the beginning – for a day only, thanks to healthy breast milk.
- Abigail
When you said it was the first successful birth of octuplets, I just HAD to fact check that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_multiple_births#Octuplets_.288.29
Several successful births, but none yet where none of the babby’s died. My pary goes to the father for his chrilden.
Wow. I\’m breastfeeding my 8.5 month old son and have no plans to stop, but just the thought of breastfeeding eight babies… Sounds like SuperMom!
Definitely impressive… not many people would try it but according to recent news this lady is, uh, dedicated.
FYI, Duggar Mom’s first name is Michelle, not Anna.
The Duggar mom’s name is Michelle, not Anna.
Anna is the Duggar’s new daughter in law, she hasn’t had any kiddos … yet.
I read the article and the comments and just had to laugh. While I certainly commend her for attempting to breastfeed all 8 kiddos; it looks like she will have plenty of time to do just this. She is after all an unemployed single mom in her early 30s with 6 other children, and all living under the roof of her parents. I guess we should thank her for breastfeeding, it saves on the foodstamps that we as taxpayers would have to provide. I don’t think she is a supermom, I think she is a mom in need of some counseling.
BUT, I do love your website!
My thought is how is she going to produce enough milk to keep them all fed and healthy? The human body is an amazing thing but it was not designed for that many children at once. I wish her all the luck in the world.