Hi Diane and everyone.
I didn't read the original post, so I may be barking up the wrong tree
here, but would like to get my two-cents in anyway!
As you probably know, I am Vice President of Baby Friendly USA and have
also functioned as an Assessor for hospitals hoping to obtain the
designation. Please be assured that the things we look for are very
objective, very consistent, and very measurable. There are several criteria
for each Step. If the hospital cannot clearly demonstrate that they meet
the pre-set criteria, then they will not be awarded the designation. (And
for those of you who have heard that I'm a tough assessor, it's true, I am!
If they can't show me how they meet the criteria, oh well....!)
>>And this is the hospital that is hoping to be Baby Friendly, but will not
>>communicate with the only IBCLC in a 20 county area.
>
>Which makes me realize there's a *key piece* that should be added to the
>BFHI examiners' questions: What are your community's bfing resources, and
>in what ways do you make use of them, tell mothers about them, and maintain
>good relations with them? Then the examiners would need to seek out a
>couple local resources and make sure the answers jibe. I'm constantly
>amazed at the suspicion with which some bfing supporter views others. And I
>
>think one strong measure of a bfing supporter's true supportiveness is
>her/its overtures toward other supporters!
>
>Step 10, in my mind, isn't specifically about making sure moms have support
>groups in the community, but about making sure moms have informed support
>overall once they leave the hospital - access to pumps, to ongoing LC help,
>to LLL and other support groups, to bfing playgroups. I think of us all as
>forming a woven net that supports nursing mothers on their mothering
>tightrope. To weave that net, we *must* work together. And the hospital
>that doesn't work with community resources cuts the net right out from under
>
>her, no matter how good its in-house protocols are.
>
>Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC, LLLL Ithaca, NY
>
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--
Marie Biancuzzo
Perinatal Clinical Nurse Specialist
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Resources to simplify breastfeeding management are available at
http://www.wmc-worldwide.com
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