> Not to start a debate on this subject, since it involves breastfeeding only
> to the extent that nurses often do not have the time to give professional
> care due to workload, but I do think that it is time to shift some of the
> funds that are now being funnelled to high paid executives in the managed
> care and hospital systems to the people/professional (largely WOMEN)  who
> actually do the WORK of taking care of moms and babies in the hospital.

We have these problems in Australia too. In 1998, in Western Australia, the
average age of midwives was 42 years of age, Two years  later it was 46
years. We have a terrible shortage of midwives (and general nurses) here.
I work in a small private community based hospital that does around 600
births per year. Most of the midwives where I work rotate through Birth
Suite, postnatal care and Nursery according to need. Which means if we have
a lot of women in Birth Suite, or babies in level II nursery then the
midwives must be deployed there out of necessity. Who's left to look after
the postnatal breastfeeding Mums? Sometimes non midwives or students who
have very little breastfeeding knowledge. Most certainly breastfeeding must
fail for some mothers because they don¹t receive enough support. One of my
colleagues (also an LC) went home crying in frustration 2 days ago because
she had so many mum's experiencing problems with breastfeeding and couldn't
meet their needs, because there was only one of her and too many of them.

Cathy Fetherston CM MSc IBCLC

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