Heather, I did not mean to imply that families that do not practice attachment parenting get the test weights. <<I can't go along with your further implication that it's only safe not to do test weighing if the parents are into attachment parenting.....and bcause most aren't, it's either justifiable or necessary.>> I was merely pointing out that "natural or physiologic bf" [which I guess I lumped together with "attachment parenting"] would make for many less bf problems and therefore consultations. I second what Jan said in her latest post on test wts. They are not done routinely and they are not done at all in hospital, nor for everyone who comes in for a consultation due to a bf problem. But like Jan said, when they come in for a consultation it is because there is a PROBLEM. Some of these consults are very simple. Mother has nipple pain and/or trauma and when you observe the feeding you see the positioning and latch are far from optimal. Baby may have lost weight, be low on the dirty diapers, but Mother is full of milk. When you teach optimal postion/latch, the baby gulps and the mom feels much more comfortable. Then basically, you send them on their merry way and make a followup call. [Yes the basics are the nuts and bolts of bf care]. Some consultations are much more complex. Therefore, in selected cases I feel pre/post feed wts do contribute to the total assessment of the mother\baby dyad. Laurie Wheeler, RN, MN, IBCLC Violet Louisiana, s.e. USA ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html