How many NICU LC's or LC's in general  wear gloves when they are assisting with positioning,latching or helping a mom direct breastfeeding, massage or with hand expression? I try not to do too much hands on to let the mothers do things on their own with verbal instruction as much as possible but in the NICU setting there are a lot of wires and the moms can be timid/overwhelmed at first and they often need hands on assistance. If you do wear gloves,what is your rationale? Do you feel moms appreciate the barrier since the breast in so personal? I am working in a new setting with one other LC who always wears gloves. I only wear gloves when I do an oral exam of the baby. We want consistency but this is a rather significant change in my practice and I am wondering what the consenus is. I never see videos of LC's wearing gloves and I have not seen it recommended in the literature or discussed at conferences. If anyone knows of guidelines for recommending gloves or other thoughts on the subject I would appreciate the input
Thank you,
Amy Macke RN,IBCLC

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