Hi all of you out there in Lactnet land.  There as something that happened
today at work which is a pretty common occurance.  In our clinic, they have
incorporated the peer counselors in the certification process.  All the
pregnant woman have to see us whether or not they want to breastfeed or not.
This gives us a chance to convince them otherwise.  We also work with the
breastfeeding clients.

A Hispanic lady came into me with the problem of flat nipples, and
engourgement.  I had to have a translator.  Now there was a different
translator in the nutritionist office.  She was not putting the baby to the
breast, but pumping her milk 2x/d and formula feeding the rest of the day.
Now, when I asked her how many times she fed her baby in a 24 hour day--she
said that she was feeding him every hour.  Most of this is 4 oz. of formula.
I could not believe she got past the nutritionist with this, so I called her
on the phone.  The information that was on her diet recall sheet was that
the baby was receiving 20 oz. in a 24 hour day.  We questioned her again,
and she said every hour again.  I told her that she did not need to feed him
that much formula.  I worked with her and the baby.  By the time I she left,
the baby was nursing somewhat.

The thing is is that messages do not get to the client the way that we want
them to be.  I have noticed that quite a bit during classes and such.  When
you are working with a translator, it can be very frustrating.  I was
wondering if anyone else has had this problem.  And any suggestions to
it--if there is any.  I am in the process of learning Spanish.

Carrie
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