Hi Friends,
I don't post very often, so let me do a briet intro! I work for a mid-
sized Medical Center in Eugene in a department that does only telephone
triage. We talk to many, many young Mom's mostly needing education and
support. Since getting my IBCLC, the level of breastfeeding info has
improved tremendously in our department. I have found when talking to
parents who have changed from breast to bottle, esp those that do it
early, that if I express something like sympathy they will usually tell
me all about what happened, I can do some brief education for "next
time" and get their original question answered and we hang up happy.
Well, last night when the Dad said they changed to formula at 2 weeks,
and this is a 1 mo old, I just said, "I'm sorry." and went on to answer
the original question. Was I ever suprized when I realized he had hung
up on me! Five minutes later I was even more surprized when the Mom
called having a verbal tantrum. She said I had expressed personal
negative opinions about how they choose to raise their baby. I tried to
explain that I hadn't, infact, I hadn't even been able to finish a
sentence because the caller had hung up on me, and I would like to talk
with her now. No, she would have none of it, and wanted our supervisor.
Luckily, we have a very supportive supervisor, and I did follow through
and let her know what happened. These people are extremely vested in
their anger, and I am disappointed that I was not able to help them
express it appropriately, and get on to the original question ("Is is
possible to over feed a baby?"). I was quite upset yesterday, but I do
feel some better today. I know I can't save every one, but I would be
interested in any suggestions on what I might have done differently to
save this call.
Thanks so much,
Sue Kasten, RN, IBCLC
Dexter, Oregon, USA
***********************************************
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
|
