Apologies -- my email program hung up as the post was being sent and it did
not complete.  Here is the remainder:

 From my background as an LLLL, I agree that it is very important to
encourage BFAR mothers to watch the babies' cues rather than clock, and to
look to the baby for signs of satiation rather than gauging it exclusively
by demarcations on a feeding device.  This is very difficult for most BFAR
mothers, however, as they understandably have considerable anxiety about
their babies' intake.  And, of course, there are situations when babies are
at significant risk and cue feeding alone is not sufficient.  However, when
it is possible, it is certainly true that cue feeding is a critical means
of developing the basics of the breastfeeding relationship, which is so
important for BFAR mothers.

 >We do follow up with weekly weight checks. Usually mothers who rent an
 >infant weighing scale become extremely anxious because the temptation to
 >weigh their infants frequently is too great and they go through frequent
 >moments of elation and despair.

I'm afraid I must disagree on this point.  I find that the use of an
electronic baby scale is very effective in giving mothers reliable
information upon which supplementation decisions can be made.  Taking a
daily weight (more frequent weighings are strongly discouraged) and
charting it provides both the parents and the HCP with an objective data
graph.  It also helps alleviate fear and anxiety when the parents know the
babies' weight gain (or loss) with a degree of accuracy.  It is certainly
true that there is a temptation to weigh more frequently, but my experience
with BFAR mothers is that most do not do this when they understand the
importance of limiting the weighings to once daily and the benefits of the
daily increment as a graphing tool.  The majority of mothers that I have
worked with have found having a scale to be one of the most empowering
tools for preventing unnecessary supplementation.  They frequently
recommend it to each other.

 >Finally, as I've posted before, my supervisors modified the tube placement
 >and use of venting - modifications which I'm hoping to study in a formal
 >research study

This would be very interesting!  I look forward to the results of this study.

Diana West, BA, IBCLC candidate 2002
BFAR Information and Support Organization
http://www.bfar.org

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