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Subject:
From:
Susan Burger <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 27 Jul 2006 07:54:24 -0400
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Dear all:

I have recently had yet another case that I feel hits the level of abuse.  While I'm sure that the vast 
majority of IBCLCs in hospitals would never do this, I have had several cases of nurses grabbing 
women's breasts in ways that mothers feel are abusive. This poor mom had her nipple (not areola, 
she showed me the area) grabbed and pinched to the point that tears were streaming down her 
face.  She was not asked permission to touch her breasts.  It immediately brought back another 
woman whose breasts were bruised by an overly agressive nurse in the hospital.  Ususally mothers 
are so shocked by this process that they don't open up about it until they get out of the hospital 
and about 50% of my consultation is listening to how they felt about their breasts being grabbed.

Similarly, I have been paying attention to an increasing number of women who call because they 
have decided to abruptly women.  The configuration of this profile is typically the woman who had 
a head ramming nurse in the hospital who shoved her baby's head down so the chin was in the 
chest, the pain was excruciating for mom and both ended up crying.... repeatedly.  Then the baby 
started exercising its instinctive reflexes and fights back when the head is pushed into the breast 
so mom thinks the baby is rejecting her.  The baby stops latching or mom stops trying because 
she feels she's been brutalized.  Mom started gettng engorged and was told not to pump.  Then of 
course the baby nurse said weaning at once was the best way to go.  So, I get mom in either full 
blown pathologic engorgement or mastitis.  This is not a one time or ocassional occurance to get 
these phone calls.  I usually spend a long time on the phone with these women even though I 
probably should not because I'll never see a dime out of my time, but I do it because I want these 
women to know that there is another way that does not feel as brutal.  I talk to them about what 
Rebecca Glover calls the instinctive position, how to recuperate their bonding with the baby 
through skin to skin, explain why our health care system has lost the art of assisting moms to 
breastfeed in ways that don't feel so brutal to these women, and encourage them to consider a bit 
of breast time IF they feel up to it as they gradually slow down their supply.

So, I want to mention this to those of you who work in hospitals if you have the opportunity (and I 
know this is difficult) to gently nudge the nurses in your hospitals into a different mind set about 
latching.  At the ILCA conference I did not see many posters or materials with the snuggled 
together, neck extended, instinctive position that I understand from talking to some of the 
Australians at the ILCA conference is so widely used that they didn't even know that some US 
IBCLCs call it the "Aussie latch".   I mostly saw repeated diagrams at the conference that were the 
chin tucked head ram latch from other quarters.  Please check out Rebecca Glover's posters and/
or video if you can ---- Jay Gordon's website also had a very nice video clip (from Jack Newman) 
that nicely illustrated this much more gentle method of latching.  Babies hang their mouths open 
much longer when their neck is extended, so you don't need to SLAM them on the breast.  Mom 
doesn't feel so intimidated when she can take her time and firmly, but not roughly, press her baby 
to the breast.

Best regards, Susan Burger

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