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Subject:
From:
"Helen M. Woodman" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 24 Jul 1998 16:11:15 EDT
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Dear all,

Heather said

<<Barbara Wilson-Clay's description of the way she uses nipple shields
for mothers with latching probs is highly instructive - and I think
her approach goes a long way to negating some of the disadvantages of
these things. She gives follow-through - that is, Barbara, you don't
just give out shields 'like cakes' as Anneleise Bon says some
maternity nurses do in the Netherlands. They are certainly given out
too readily in the UK - midwives give them to mothers in hospital, and
they never see the mother again. The community midwife (makes home
visits in the UK, usually up to 10 days after the birth) is then
confronted with the situation. She has never seen the original
problem, and even now, she may not see the baby feed unless she is
keen to help the mother (and not all of them are, and they don't
always have the necessary time to spend) . So the mother carries on
(or gives up, of course) , unsupported and uninformed.>>

My experience at the moment is that our newly built local maternity unit seems
to have less beds than the old unit, (I must investigate this) mother's rarely
spend longer than 2 days in hospital.  I am wondering whether the bed
situation plays some part in hurried discharge, apart from finance (here in UK
majority of us have our babies in National Health Hospitals)  Anyway, they say
to the mothers who are struggling with breastfeeding that they won't discharge
her until bfeeding is going well.  They *achieve* the discharge if baby has
not satisfactorily latched by giving mother nipple shields, baby *looks* to be
suckling (not to thee and me) to be on OK (not to thee and me) and mother is
discharged pronto.  Baby, by the way, takes little, if any milk and absolutely
no proper checks are made to evaluate this.   I am feeling pretty cross.

Helen Woodman,  NCT Breastfeeding Counsellor, Storrington, West Sussex, UK.

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