I realize that the birth topic is closed at this time but I am facing a
situation where I feel I have to do something , but do not know what.
Because of this I will try to be brief on the topic of birth.
 Three weeks ago I had my 6th child , a wonderful baby girl.
  A little over 10 years ago I had my first baby in this hospital. It was
incredibly traumatic and after they almost circumcised him by mistake I
signed myself out "AMA"
  I had my next 4 babes in another hospital with the different midwife / but
the same one for all 4 deliveries /.
  Last year she had to close her doors , because she could not afford to pay
the insurance and joined a midwifery group in the same hospital where I had
my first child.
  I hesitate to name the hospital , but it serves a very - very poor
population.  A lot of the mothers are being seen for the first time during
the delivery. Basically I would make it 2 categories Addicts and
Really-Really Poor , I am not bashing any one , just saying it like it is.
Because my spine was injured as a result of epidural I can not have it. A am
also very allergic to narcotics , so I had no chemical pain relieve. I had a
very nice birth , not connected to an IV / I promised the nurse to drink and
monitor my own fluid intake/ , different midwifes kept coming and visiting
with us . They were saying that this was a beautiful birth , totally
natural. Because I came in before I went into the labor I was there for
almost 24 hours. Can not say about the lest 4 , but one thing that made me
wonder was how very quiet it was there. Everybody had an epidural. On the
whole it was a nice birth for me , and people were really nice there ,
informed about S2S and the importance of having the baby latch on as soon as
possible.
  This drastically changed when we got to the postpartum floor. First they
took the baby from me just for a few minutes , I was told that she will me
upstairs. The nurse upstairs informed me that my baby / normal , at term ,
8lb/ was under the radial vormer , and will be there for the next 4 hours.
When reasoning - this is a breastfed only baby , four hours too long , why
does she need the vormer anyway - failed I asked for my midwife , my
pediatrician and the patients representative. After a short , but really
loud tussle they brought my baby back to me. Then a few hours later they
tryed to take her back . I pointed out again that I was breastfeeding
exclusively , the baby was nursing every 45 min , and I was not letting her
scream or be fed in the nursery.
In the end we reached a compromise , they only took the baby for the shift
change , she was the last baby to be taken and the first one returned. I
also kept my eye on the clock and if they where more than 5 min. late
bringing the baby I went out and nagged. I was told that I was the only
woman at this point who initiated breastfeeding. Most mothers did not even
take the babes from the nursery at all "because they needed theyr rest ".
One of the nurses told me that she felt sorry for me , but I was being
punished for "getting my way".
They also disconnected the call button. It was OK with me , I and the baby
were just fine.
   When I asked if LC was available I found out that they do not have one.
When I asked for a pump they searched and said that they run out of pump
kits , need to order more , but there was really not much demand for it.
When I asked them if they had any printed material on breastfeeding I was
told that they have none.
  Later a few nurses came and asked me to show them how I nursed.
  I was really shocked .This hospital serves the population that can not
afford to pay for formula . Also a lot of the mothers are missing out on
bonding.
 My friend had a baby there last week. Same experience , only she was not
able to be as assertive as I was. Same stupid platitudes - you need your
rest.
 So what can I do to make this place more baby-friendly. Complain ?
Volunteer as peer canceler ? Give up?
  A few of my Friends would be having babes there soon and I would like to
do something about this situation.  I just can not let it go.
Henya Kazatchkov

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