Hi Jane,

I'm sure others will be more helpful, others who have gone through the
process and are using consent forms. We do not. You might imagine,
with Mississippi being the state in the USA with the lowest
breastfeeding rates, there is alot of formula feeding going on,
barriers, etc.
Since I have been trying to raise bf awareness and rates for 32 yrs or
so, in Louisiana and Mississippi (both with low rates) I have some
experience with discussing these issues. In my opinion, it will be
very rare to change someone's mind at delivery. When presenting the
consequences to a mother, I imagine her eyes glazed over thinking
"yada, yada, yada." How many times does a mother tell me "I'm going to
try" but that involves placing baby near the breast and if he doesn't
immediately latch, she's done trying. I cannot count the times. In
other words, that mother had already made up her mind. My co-worker
and I have often sort of talked an undecided or tentative mother into
trying and the baby does great, but the mother says "no, give me a
bottle." She had already made up her mind.

My point is that the presenting of information (consequences of not
bf) should be directed to 2 populations: pregnant women/families (and
even before pregnancy and population wide) and healthcare workers. The
healthcare workers need to know the consequences of formula feeding,
of not bf, of use of artificial nipples, so that they can support the
moms who do want to exclusively bf. I am making a little progress on
that front (nurses supporting excl bf) but I have never made progress
with the mothers themselves. Believe me I have tried so many
approaches.

I am not saying that you should not pursue the consent issue, but that
I would not expect mothers to be receptive to it. My mind is really
reeling from so many ideas and factors that go into this issue,
pros/cons of consent, etc. Once a mother has given birth, I really
believe not much will change her plans. I have had to accept this for
my own sanity. However, I still present the cons and encourage more bf
or exclusive, and I chart it in a brief note, because I just can't
completely let go. I have some parent handouts and emails I've sent to
staff, if you want any, email me at [log in to unmask]

Laurie Wheeler RN MN IBCLC
Mississippi USA

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome