Oh my goodness, let me clarify my position on "pre and post" weights.

I am on your side, guys.  If I could convince all moms to trust their bodies
and watch/listen to their babies I certainly would. Lord knows I try.

But after doing this for 8 years now, the most important lesson I have
learned (and the hardest for me to act upon day to day) is to "meet a mom
where she is".  Meaning, I have to meet a mom where she is in her life...the
people who surround and influence her, and the culture she has grown up
within, that has shaped her expectations, fears, vulnerabilities.  It is
really hard for me to see moms who come in with mastitis because they are
back to work in less than TWO WEEKS because they have completely
unreaslistic expectations, forced upon them by our culture. Or exclusively
pumping because it will be "easier to manage". (Don't get me started)

Back to weighing...Until all US communities have all healthcare providers
giving excellent breastfeeding advice, and seeing babies often enough to
identify problems with feeding, a drop-in weigh station can provide moms
with piece of mind when they lack confidence and familiarity with
breastfeeding, as well as an opportunity to be identified as in trouble.  It
is not an uncommon occurance for a mom of a 3, 4 or even 6 week-old baby who
is nowhere near back to birthweight (or has been there and is on the way
back down) to "stop in" to MilkWorks to weigh her baby, because she has an
inkling things are not going well.  Our culture has completely failed these
women, and the free spot to drop in a weigh is a safety net for them.

We do not encourage women to stop in off the street to weigh before and
after nursing.  But some do anyway...usually women with older babies who
suspect their supplies are low because they work outside the home and cannot
pump often enough, and their "good" baby has slept in a crib for over 8
hours a night for months.  We do not usually base any advice on the single
feeding, but overall gain and satisfaction in the baby. It seems some moms
are much more comfortable "stopping in" to "measure" something and obtusely
ask for help, rather than have to call and make an appointment. We also have
moms who we have been following for weeks...waiting for their premature baby
to "grow up" enough to take enough on their own, or a small baby to "grow
into" large nipples..and they prefer dropping in once in a while to guage
removal rather than make an appointment.

Anyway, I do not mean to rant, but our culture is a long way from my vision
of what women need to be able to relax and trust in the process.  And we
work really hard to try and help them keep breastfeeding as long as they can
possibly swim against the tide.


Kathy Leeper, MD, IBCLC
Medical Director, MilkWorks
Lincoln, NE

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