Jan, I find it very sad and a comment our society, that there are NO
baby-friendly hospitals in the U.S.

People, health professionals, HMO people, hospitals officials who should
know better,  are selling out..to the ABM companies. I know that here in my
area, no one can see WHY they should NOT accept free aftificial baby milk.
It is amazing that the level of consciousness drops when money is
concerned.A little selected blindness, maybe?

 In our hospital, mothers are not being subjected to a 24 hour discharge,
and their managed care is also being CUT way back to one pp phone call,
where they used to get unlimited phone calls from experienced pp nurses.
Now,the pediatricians' offices will be deluged with bf problems they won't
be able to handle, and worse yet, and most fearfully, there will be mothers
who will NOT call anyone , will not KNOW their baby is in trouble, and
someone's kid  is gonna die...plain and simple. I myself have seen some
babie s who have been perilously close..without their parents having any
awareness of the seriousness of the infants' condition. The antepartum
breastfeeding classes are now also being dropped from coverage, and so less
people will take those.  So, the bottom line is, people won't KNOW about bf
when they are pregnant, they won't learn about it, chances are, and then
they will then go into it dangerously ignorant and on top of that, they will
be unsupported afterwards.  And all because bf is not a priority.  Our
hospital  **talks the talks**....they say they want to support bf, but no
one WALKS THE WALK.*yes I am shouting.*   No one supports women and bf here
when it really comes to dishing out cash. And on top of THAT...(can you tell
I am FUMING?) the managed care nurses are not allowed to** tell**  their
clients antepartum what services available pp such as LC services. They will
keep the insureds' ignorant of services avail, and dish them out sparingly
if they are needed. WHAT NEW MOTHER DOES NOT NEED SUPPORT IN BF? might I ask?

Oh, and our CEO of our local big HMO here in Vermont, I am told, makes
between $300,000-$400,000 a YEAR. Yes, folks. There is no money for bf support.


Sign me

Disgusted, truly. In Vermont
Kathleen
Kathleen B. Bruce, BSN, IBCLC, LLLeader, co-owner Lactnet, LLLOL, Corgi-L
LACTNET WWW site: http://www.mcs.com/~auerbach/lactation.html
Personal WWW page: http://www.together.net/~kbruce/kbbhome.html