Hello to you all~
This is slightly off topic, but an issue that has me so riled up.........
This is the situation: a baby was being seen for a breastfeeding assessment
at 4 days of age. The breastfeeding was becoming established, but the baby
looked quite jaundiced so I had the lab tech come to do a heel stick and
draw blood for a bilirubin test. Of course, the parents were concerned and
then distraught as the baby cried and cried as her heel was being squeezed.
The father went to stroke the baby and offer her a pacifier in an attempt
to soothe her. To my horror, the lab tech scolded him, saying that she
WANTED the  baby to cry "so that she would bleed better". The dad was
crushed, and I was so outraged that I was speechless.
 I know all about breastfeeding as a form of analgesia ( still hoping to
promote that one at our institution) and that sucking on a sucrose-dipped
pacifier helps during circumcisions. I have seen that help to calm babies--
it really seems to work. But, my questions is this: does anyone have a
reference or research that says that babies SHOULD scream so that the blood
flows faster and easier??!! I cannot imagine that anyone would advocate
that, but.........
After the heel stick the baby WAS soothed and comforted at the breast,
although now it was the mother who was in tears.
I have already reported the tech to the lab supervisor, but would dearly
love to have something to substantiate my feelings that this was nothing
short of abuse to that baby.
 Will babies cry during invasive procedures? Yes, most likely they will.
Should any form of comfort be purposefully withheld??!! I doubt that is
good practice in any sense of the word.

thanks for letting me vent

Kirsten RN IBCLC

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