Magda wrote:

>The UK government recomendation -- to be published any time now as the 4th
>edition of the Hall report -- is going to be that -- after the weighing at
>birth -- babies are weighed *routinely* FOUR TIMES IN THE FIRST YEAR
>(intervals set in the report).  (recommendation leaked in the health
>visitor's journal last year).
>
>This is NOT the current practice, which allows mums to come every week to
>the child health clinic and get their babies weighed -- and some do.


I confirm this - some do it more often than every week, too,
especially at first, yet there is a huge variation in the number of
times a baby is weighed. I would be quite happy with the Hall
recoomendation if we could be certain that *all* health professionals
knew how else to teach mothers whether their babies are thriving or
not.

At present in the UK we have a situation where in some cases, weight
is almost the only focus of the child health consultation, with
babies 'having' to follow 'their' line on the chart or else....and in
other cases, hps being so laid back about weight (because they have
been told it's not that important) but also not recognising when bf
is ineffective and the baby is not thriving, and not knowing how to
help a desperate mother.

Mothers are in the midst of this professional confusion, and I have
come across many who are left disillusioned and distressed - their
babies have been readmitted to hospital because of dehydration, or
they give a bottle, in desperation to a miserable, underfed baby who
gulps it down and becomes, in the mother's words 'a different baby.'


>
>If this weighing is serving a purpose -- the usual arguement in the British
>literature ('coming to the clinic is a social event for mums' or 'it lets
>mums know that all is well with their babies') then the interesting question
>is why so little has been done to address these needs in a more
>direct/honest/targeted way??


Absolutely! These arguments drive me nuts....especially because they
are true. Mothers do see the clinic as an outing; confident mothers
with their own social networks don't bother going much. It is really
sad that in order to have some sort of adult interaction, a mother
has to subject her baby and herself to a process that can (at worst)
diminish and belittle her - strong words, I know, but this happens.
The best hps support the mother, and teach her how to recognise when
everything is fine, and to help her rejoice in her achievement in
loving and nurturing her baby...weighing has very little to do with
any of this.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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