> Why are we sending mothers and babies home before a baby can breastfeed
> adequately - ie. enough to sustain its nutritional needs and grow.  The
> baby and mother both indicate that they want to achieve this by
> *breastfeeding*, yet they are discharged before this is achieved just
> because ANY milk can be *got into* the baby by ANY other method.

Bed turnover is a priority in some hospitals.  And moms who are
showing no complications with babies that are showing no
complications are literally kicked out of the hospital sometimes less
than 24 hours after delivery.  In the past year I have noticed in
increase of help calls from moms who are having problems.  I always
ask if breastfeeding was going well in the hospital.  Repeatedly I
have been told that it wasn't and that they were told they had to
give the baby a bottle of ABM before they could leave.  I asked if
they knew why they were told to do this.  The response was almost
always, "Because they want to assure that the baby had eaten before
it left the hospital."

I find that this only makes our work harder.  I would much prefer to
get a call to help a mom prior to discharge to help rather than have
to clean up afterwards.


Michelle Leifur Reid
LLL Leader
Mobile, AL

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