I've been wondering whether or not to share my frustrations with you all
about this topic, mainly because I don't want to "name and shame" them (I
don't believe this is constructive in the long run).  But here goes anyway.
The hospital where I am doing work experience give three gifts to mothers
when they leave:

 1. box full with samples of creams, a childs plate (plus some other useless
items).

2. box of tissues sponsored by a ABM manufacturer (with the usual spiel
'breast is best' but if you can not or do not want to give bf then ABM is a
good alternative.

3. The third is a storage box for ABM (with logo from ABM manufacturer) -
they box is so shaped that the packets of ABM just slide in. Its really
'neat' - if you goto the supermarket and see the ABM packets you just
automatically associate the storage box with it.

Now, this really gets my goat. From day one I refused to hand out these
things. Unforutnately it is not part of my role to make sure that the mother
has all her paper plus these 'neat' gifts ready to take home. But I often
volunteer to go and get them - thus I always come back with only the box of
useless items. If asked where the rest are I make it quite clear that as a
bf mother what on earth does she want with them? Mostly, its left like this.
If a nurse insists that she have the last two items then she has to get them
herself. To sound less militant I also point out that the mother (and papa)
have just received the only important gift (the baby!) and it really will
not make a difference to their lives if they don't get the stupid boxes.

To cap it all of, the sterile bottles that the mothers use for EBM are also
provided by an ABM manufacturer - name / logo on the lable. The lables I
just soak off or stick a white sticker over. The problem is that the lid
also have the ABM name on it?

Ok, my actions have not stopped the practise but I have to try.

Despite this problem, things (i.e. bf  ) have improved with the intro of a
LC (no more ABM logos for mothers to see etc) and the nursing staff work
hard in helping mothers to breastfeed and I'm very grateful to them for
allowing me to help out.  But it is still extremely frustrating.

I also want to say, that I'm not 'nurse bashing', it's the hospital policy
I'm 'bashing'.

On a positive note, I spoke to a midwife recently who has worked for 19
years in Nepal  - in that time only saw two mothers who didn't breastfeed.
Plus, the local district nurse has been giving a prenatal breastfeeding
course. As a result of her course, 50% of her course participants are giving
bf at 3 months (as opposed to approx. 22% at 3 months / national figures for
The Netherlands).

groetjes,

Sara Bernard
(lay breastfeeding counsellor  - Vereniging Borstvoeding Natuurlijk, The
Netherlands - almost!)

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