Stacy,
I'm glad you will be in attendance at the M&M meeting. Your presence alone
may avoid them bringing up breastfeeding and suffocation, period.  But, as you
mentioned, how do they expect you to do all of this? So, when you're on, you
have to attend all initial latches (or the nurses, right! Nothing against
nurses, but they have a lot to do, too.) - and those initial latches take a long
time to do it right!  Sometimes when I'm hired to be at a birth, I'm assisting
the initial latch for 40 minutes!  I stay right there and assist with holding,
etc., especially if mom had a c/section, and I educate her on her baby's cues
so that she learns .  So, that seems impossible to achieve with present
hospital staffing patterns to me.  I'm afraid it'll lead to lots more "ramming onto
the breast" by harried nurses who really don't have the time to allow baby to
show early hunger cues and readiness to come to the breast on their own accord.


These babies often times appear sleepy at the breast during the hospital stay
related to them "shutting down" as a coping mechanism against the "ramming"
experience, combined with the influence of the epidurals, and other anesthetics
used for birthing practices.  Often times new moms haven't "learned" proper
latching techniques yet, and because the baby is quiet at the breast and it
doesn't hurt, they think they're latching properly, so they don't ask for
assistance by the hospital LC.  Then, once home and reawakening from the impact of
the birthing practices, these babies refuse to latch and demonstrate lots of
oral aversion.  The moms continue to attempt to "ram" the baby onto the breast
because they tell me that's what they saw being done in the hospital.  Often
times, these babies lose weight and then the doctor tells the mom she needs to
supplement.  It's such a vicious cycle.....

Carol Chamblin, RN, MS, IBCLC
Breast 'N Baby Lactation Services, Inc.
St. Charles, IL

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