I am going to "weigh-in" with my view of weighing infants.  I too (a whole
long time ago) encountered mothers who were terribly intimidated when
babies were weighed (before and after breastfeeding) or sometimes only just
after and then given advice which was inappropriate.  There was no way to
determine if the scales were calibrated; many were on balance scales, which
have a pretty large error rate, and so on.

And certainly in my many years as a LLL leader, I tended to stay away from
placing much importance on weights.

Then I began working as an LC (in hospitals and privately).  I saw babies
who were NOT normal, thriving babies.  Those babies NEEDED to be weighed to
gain some understanding of the situation. When they became available,
though expensive, I purchased an electronic scale which is accurate to 2
gm.  AND I make sure it is calibrated to weigh accurately what is put on
it.

As a routine whenever I see a mother in my office, I weigh the baby as part
of my intake information. Then we continue with the rest of the hx taking
and in the course of time, her baby asks to breastfeed.  She does this on
first one side and then the other.  I am asking questions or making
comments during this period.  AFTER a full breastfeeding (both sides in
nearly all cases unless baby falls deeply asleep and cannot be roused), I
will then say (if I need to know this), "Let's see what the baby took."  We
put the baby back on the scale.  The difference between the first and the
second weight often tells me something that I NEED to know.

None of my clients has been placed in a position where they would have
"performance anxiety" from getting a before-after weight in this manner.
In many cases where baby has taken a goodly amount, that information is
VERY reassuring to the mother.  In situations where FTT in the baby is the
reason she is IN my office in the first place, knowing what the baby took
on that feeding also can be telling information as we determine how much
additional milk (preferably hers) she may need to offer to the baby in
order for decent growth to occur.

In looking back on how I used to manage situations of FTT before I had the
scale and now, I am VERY GLAD I have a scale.  It gives the mother another
opportunity to get a weight which she can trust, but I know my scale is
accurate (I calibrate it after every mother or once every 10 days,
depending on my mood.  It has not failed me.

As with all things, any technology must be used appropriately and within
the context of the problem that is presenting.  I have some clients with
healthy babies who ask to stop by on occasion just to "make sure" the baby
is as heavy as he feels.  I love these little free visits.  Gives me a
chance to see a healthy thriving little one for a change, not just the
owrried looking skinny critters who concern me so much.

Hoping the above helps.

PS If you are an LC and are NOT comfortable with weighing babies, do not do
it!  But make sure there is someplace where a mother can get accurate
weights if there is a need for same.  One cannot tell how much a baby takes
without a scale in my opinion.  Counting swallows isn't enough; putting
mother or dad on balance scale with and without baby is not accurate
enough....

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"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly
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Kathleen G. Auerbach,PhD, IBCLC (Ferndale, WA USA) [log in to unmask]
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