Celine talks about the difference between the RN in her that wants to get
right in and "fix" a problem vs the LC who is "supposed to"teach  a mom
primarily by talking her through it.  We have come a long way from "getting
the baby on" to helping a mom learn how to do it herself.  However, I am a
little concerned with the "never use your hands" approach that some seem to
advocate.  Yes, we may have been way too "hands on" in the past, but lets
not swing the pendulum too far the other way.  There is a time and place
for "doing" and "showing".  When a mom doesn't seem to get something I am
trying to describe, for some reason she is not hearing what I think I am
saying.  At other times, she may be primarily a tactile learner, not an
auditory or visual learner.  If I have tried describing a latch to her and
she isn't following through or maybe baby is absolutely frantic to latch
and I don't want to lose that moment, I may guide her and baby through a
latch and then once baby is guzzling away, I'll say,"OK let's talk about
what we just did."  There is a big difference between shoving a baby on and
guiding the nursing dyad through a latch.  If I have directly been a major
player in achieving that latch, I always ask the mom to "do a return
demonstration" either actually latching again, or, if baby is now satiated
or has fallen asleep, I at least ask her to go through the motions,
especially if I cannot be there the next time baby is ready to nurse.
Let's face it, there are few if any absolutes in our work!  "Always" and
"never" really don't apply.  Even formula feeding has a (albeit very very
rare) place.  It bothers me when I hear that we should NEVER use pacifiers,
shields, test weights, etc.  Unfortunately, some of the frustrtions we face
are with moms who seem to expect clear-cut absolute answers and HCPs who
are too ready to give absolute, every case solutions.

Winnie

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
Mail all commands to [log in to unmask]
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask])
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask])
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]