Dear Cindy, RN from Wis,
     I helped get rid of the stuff from our nursery and also the "suck
assessment" with a bottle of sterile water in 1987.  I couldn't have done
it alone, one of the pp staff nurses was quite verbal to our manager and
a real strong support for me at the time.  We included one of the
neotalogists in the policy changes, and he was supportive when given
current facts.
     Some of the facts that helped a lot was how a baby imprints on the
first nipple in the mouth, not sure where you could find that but I would
guess K Auerbach covers it, and probably Lawrence, LLL materials too; how
feedings at the breast during the first 1-2 hours of life are beneficial
in many ways, among them a decreased incidence of jaundice, most mothers
get a boost of confidence too, see Dr. Larry Gartner's work.
    The pp nurses noticed they needed to spend LESS time coaxing a baby
to latch on at the breast if the baby had never gotten a bottle.  Made
their jobs easier!
     There is no reason a baby should not be allowed to have a "suck
assessment" at the breast, perhaps it could be included in your new
policy that a nurse will be present for every first feeding and make the
assessment at the bedside.
     Good luck!   Change comes slowly at times and can be difficult.
Find any positives in the staff you can and mention it to them, find
allies.  Maybe the health benefits of human milk will help convince some
staff members that breastfeeding is worth supporting from many angles:
cost savings in health care dollars (the public health angle), less trash
for the environment, less work time lost for br.feeding employees,
brighter children (if it's PC to mention the help of classical music, why
not breast milk?)
     This got longer than intended, hope something here can be helpful to
you!
      Susan Potts rn ibclc
     Your neighbor in MInnesota
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