Hi Seema
It seems the hospital where you work is a little behind the times with
regard to breastfeeding. Demerol is not a drug of choice but would not be
entirely "prohibited" in my opinion. Simply put, the metabolites of demerol
last a long time and can depress the baby. However, a baby on day 1 is not
taking in large quantities of breastmilk and therefore not miuch of the
drugs in mom. What I would suggest is to read the info from Tom Hale's book
"Medications and Mother's Milk" and armed with that info, you could share
with the doctor something like this:

"Several moms were very disappointed that they couldn't bf because of the
demerol and that the baby had to be fed a bottle his first day. Of course
the moms really needed something for pain. The info I have here states that
demerol really is a problem for babies, would there be any other medication
that would work for mom post c/s but would be better for the baby. I have
some info on why morphine would be a good choice, which really surprised me,
but would you take a look at it?"
OR
"I was also worried about the demerol for the baby but I have the latest
info on the drug and it says for healthy full term babies (or whatever) it
is ok for short term use like the first day post op. Also I was thinking
that the typical amts a baby takes in on day 1 are pretty low so his
exposure would be really low too. Can I leave this info with you and see
what you think after you read it?"
Seema, be forewarned, this tactic doesn't always work but it can start a
change process, which is usually a very slow process -- years.

Re tea bags: as far as I'm concerned this is an old practice, can be
soothing to the mom when immediately applied but not sure if it does any
good, and might cause drying. The best thing you can do is to gradually show
staff and moms, of course, about latching. Personally, I would not make a
big deal out of the use of the tea bags but rather just add in the latch
teaching if you can and the need for the tea bags will die out. Years ago I
would have made a big ruckus about it, but I've learned that just puts up
walls.
Best regards,
Laurie Wheeler, RN, MN, IBCLC
Mississippi USA

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
Mail all commands to [log in to unmask]
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask])
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask])
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]