Jane Ciaramella RNC, IBCLC
Dear Jane,
Kay Hoover and I staffed a hospital breastfeeding center for four years. We
developed a one-page chart of our own for each breastfeeding mom. There was
room for the hospital ID stamp in a top corner, then a checklist of common
observations and topics/skills normally covered in our assessment and
teaching, then 2/3 page of blank lines for notes. (Kay likes to check things
off; I like to write notes; so we accommodated both of our preferred styles.)
We had a code for what kind of encounter we had with each mother: T: teach,
O: observe (baby at breast, or just visual assessment of mom's breasts and
nipples), A: assist (any kind of hands-on help with breastfeeding or milk
expression), P: problem-solve (which included advocacy within the hospital
system, like clearing up misinformation about whether mom could nurse on
certain meds, as well as solving breastfeeding problems).
We had a code for the mother's bf history: 1=never breastfed before;
2=breastfed a previous baby but had problems/did not meet her goals/wants to
do better this time; 3=breastfed previous child/children and did fine/does
not want to nurse any longer this time.
We also charted on the mother's hospital chart, but those notes were short
and sweet. On our own Bf Center chart we could note what follow-up was
needed, etc. We saved our own charts, and they were useful for reporting
what we had done monthly--how many of each kind of encounter we had with
moms, for instance.
This system had the advantage over a chronological log book of allowing us to
file the moms alphabetically by last name once they were discharged, so we
could find their page if they called in later with questions or problems.
Good luck to you. It's great to have some buddies and not be the only one
who goes the extra mile with nursing moms and babies.
Chris Mulford, RN, IBCLC
Swarthmore PA
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