Robin - and everyone - 

thanks for all your suggestions. Mom called me yesterday and told me that she'd tried the 
side lying position on her own and had gotten a great latch and baby nursed for 15+ 
minutes before falling off with the milk coma look of pure satisfaction! I had thought of 
the side lying position when I was up there, but we opted for some skin to skin while we 
talked about positioning, etc (lots of reassurance that the baby will get it) and then the 
nurse came in and took the baby away.

as for hospital staff doing their best - I'd like to think that were true universally - but I've 
had too many negative breastfeeding experiences at this hospital. The LC hands out 
shields to moms in trouble without any offer of follow-ups or explanation of how it will 
impact their milk supply with long term use. The nurses push formula on moms at almost 
every opportunity. This mom called me several times yesterday very upset at what she 
was being told. They (nursery nurses) did not see the point in syringe feeding and told 
the mom to just give her a bottle. They told her that plenty of moms breastfeed and then 
give and "ounce or two of formula" to make sure the baby is getting enough to eat. 

Education is key and it's obvious these nurses aren't getting the education they need. And 
if their minds are made up that they are going to do and say what they want despite 
having correct information regarding breastfeeding - then they'll do just that. From what 
one of the OR/LD nurses told me (she only does c-sections... but has the experience and 
plenty of education in breastfeeding - even if she is a little out of date on some things, 
she knows her stuff!) that the hospital LC did 1 educational class and people got up and 
walked out - not because they just didn't want to be there, but because the LC wasn't 
doing/saying anything to keep people interested. It's a very broken system at this 
hospital. 

Thankfully we are getting a family birthing center attached to a different hospital and it 
opens in less than a month. I'm looking forward to working with clients there and the LC 
they hired will hopefully be much better (she trained with the same mentor IBCLC I'm 
working with). 


Mom and baby should be coming home today and hopefully things will continue to look 
better for them.

anne

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