The recent thread on THE question has been fascinating. There have been
some excellent ideas about how to deal with it. Today - connecting two
unrelated threads in my mind - I've just read a post cautioning us not to
let breastfeeding advocacy become breastfeeding fanaticism. This is
accompanied by a message from Hilary Myers describing a very encouraging
set of hospital practices in her UK workplace, designed to facilitate the
first breastfeed, which sound brilliant. I'm just curious, however, by
the way in which clinical indication and informed consent are
presented. Hilary mentions that certain things are not done to the baby
(eye drops, blood sugars) unless "clinically indicated". On the other
hand, mothers can "choose" that their babies have the Vit K injection, and
for the weighing and measuring of the baby to be done soon after birth "if
they wish", although staff "try to encourage them to leave all that until
we know that the baby has had a good breastfeed ..." Specifically, I'm
wondering who decides - and how - whether something is important enough for
the mother to choose it or not, and exactly what information might be given
to her in order to allow her to make an "informed consent" about it for her
baby? Conversely, how something is so important that a medical decision is
made to do it - ie when it becomes "clinically indicated", over-riding a
mother's choice?
If this sounds a little provocative, it probably is. I'm wondering when
breastfeeding will be seen as so important that it will require policy
rather than mere advocacy. And also wondering when breastfeeding will be
seen as such a normal requirement for a baby's survival and well-being that
to advocate for it will not be seen as fanaticism!
Pamela Morrison IBCLC
Hilary Myers wrote, "By obs I mean weighing, measuring, temp etc. In the Uk
we do far less to the
new born baby than in some other places. No eye drops, no blood sugar unless
clinically indicated and Vitamin K is only given with the informed consent
of the parents. In my place of work physiological 3rd stage is common-place
with the placenta being delivered by maternal effort in its own good time.
Mothers can choose to have the weighing and measuring done very soon after
birth if they wish, but we try to encourage them to leave all that until we
know the baby has had a good breastfed and gone to sleep."
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