Wow, Dawn, this sounds like something I could have written.  I had a very
similar experience nearly five years ago, when my twins were born in Austin.
(We jokingly call it the hostage crisis, because we truly feel that our
babies were held hostage for 16 days.)  The NICU staff insisted on feeding
q3h (no sooner).  My twins were 35 weekers as well.  They would be hungry
before 3 hours, but the staff would insist on pacifiers (Because, in their
view, "Nursing that often is too taxing and would burn more calories than
they would get in that feed")  By the time they were allowed to nurse they
would be very tired indeed and would nurse poorly, then we would have to make
sure that they took a prescribed amount from a bottle.  We also were forced
to go home with monitors under questionable indications, but at that point I
was willing to do anything to go home.  At the time I was not savvy enough
about the science of lactation to really challenge the multitude of
inaccurate information I received.  I was able to be present 12 hours a day
so I could get in as many feedings as possible.  Ultimately we were
discharged and were able to disregard alot of bad advice.

As to your client's situation: it's hard to say whether it is worth it to get
into a battle with the NICU, especially if they are nearing discharge.  The
hospital should have a patient advocate--that's probably where I'd start.
The team meeting is also a good idea, but the parents need to be calm and
collected.  Any "excessive" emotion will result in more resistance from the
staff.

Leigh Fredholm, MD

In a message dated 3/30/2002 7:12:03 PM Central Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:


> Baby is being
> fed on a 3 hour schedule (via bottle if mom cannot be there).  This is
> their
> schedule not the mom's.  Mom feels strongly that baby will do much better
> when held by her, at home, next to his twin.

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html