As a nurse who works in a nursery, I must sadly admit that Margo is
correct.  Until we reach a point where every nurse assumes that every baby
is getting breast milk, we need those reminders.  It is well intentioned to
think that we can change the staff overnight and make an announcement that
all babies get breast milk unless otherwise noted.  But that isn't the
reality.  The unfortunate reality is that we still have nurses who assume
that it's okay to feed formula without permission and it's okay to say to
mothers, "Just get some sleep and let us give him a bottle".  Those
behaviors make it very necessary that we clearly identify those babies who
are being exclusively breast fed.

It would be nice to think that nurses would ask parents before bathing
babies in the nursery - but the reality is that they don't.  And so we need
signs that say, "Please don't bathe me until you talk to my mommy first."

It would be nice to think that nurses would ask parents before offering
pacifiers - but the reality is that they don't.  And so we need signs that
say, "No pacifiers please."

It would be nice to think that nurses would ask parents before doing
anything new... beginning new medications, ordering strange tests, moving
rooms or putting in new IVs.  But they don't always do it.

And it would be nice if nurses assumed that every baby is to receive breast
milk - but the reality is that they don't.  And so we need those awful
little signs to remind them.

It is my dream to one day work with an entire staff who understands that
breast milk is the norm.  I'm hoping but I'm not holding my breath.  Until
then, we have to advocate for those little ones somehow.

Christina Harris, RN
Seattle, WA

On 4/9/07, [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>
> Margo wrote:
>
> While I would wonder the same thing in a normal, healthy situation some
> of us give birth to critically ill babies who are on life support and
> airlifted to a NICU hundreds of miles away and those babies are not with
> mother 24/7...  In my situation it was important that the staff know that
> my son was going to get breastmilk and not to give him ANYTHING w/o calling
> me first to ask.
>

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