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Subject:
From:
Keith Anderson <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 8 Aug 1995 14:52:02 +0800
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Katherine - I really liked what you wrote about this on Sunday. We are very
lucky to have someone like you on Lactnet who is able to put things into
perspective, and explain it so well. It's useful to be able to stand back
and look at what's happening. I guess many LC's are so engrossed day-to-day
with helping individual mothers get *that baby* successfully breastfeeding
before discharge, as well as the constrictions imposed by routines in
hospitals, that it is easy to lose sight of this. (Home birth is sounding
better all the time.)

I agree with you about keeping babies with their mothers to encourage milk
production. Isn't it a shame that the rush to discharge a mother so early
leads to panic and the *need* to pump. Thank goodness this madness hasn't
spread to Australia *yet* (it will most probably). We still have at least
2-3 days, or more in private hospitals to get lactation established, and
rooming-in is the norm.

I am not hospital-based, so I don't have personal experience here, but I
believe some midwives hand express colostrum (as the volume is so low) and
feed it to baby with a spoon while baby is being held close to the breast.
Some mums are able to express it directly into baby's mouth. Much patience
(read staff time as well as mother's) is sometimes required for these
babies - which is often not available where staff are stretched to the
limit (which they seem to be everywhere around here). The ideal would be to
have an LC on staff who is able to spend the time required with these
mothers and babies. In many hospitals here, though, lack of staff time
often means the mother with a baby who is not attaching, is given a nipple
shield. We find quite a few of these are sent home feeding only when on a
shield. Often they have to search the pharmacies and baby stores on the way
home from hospital for the *right* brand of nipple shield before they can
feed baby again! And then there are all the other problems associated with
nipple shields! But that's another topic!

Joy Anderson IBCLC
Perth, Western Australia

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