Good morning all,
Since reading Karen's post on compliance, I have been giving it a great deal of
thought.  It has been a continual frustration of mine, that moms come to me
with their problems, pay me for the solutions and then fail to follow my
instructions.  Karen's comments that many of us do not follow through with what
we are advised by our health professionals really hit home.  Why then am I so
bothered when the moms I work with do the same thing.  As Lisa commented in her
post, I always check to see that the parents are comfortable with my
suggestions before committing them to the written instructions that I give
them.  Then time, after time, many (fortunately not all) make, what I would
consider drastic changes.  For example:  They bring me a baby who has not
gained and is not voiding nearly enough.  When questioned they say the baby is
sleepy, therefore they only feed her 5 or 6 times q 24 hrs.  Of course, I
increase this to 10 -12 times.  They go home, come back next time or call and
tell me they don't really feed baby as often as I say, but are sure baby has
gained.  Well - weighing tells the story and sure enough we're still in the
same boat.  Some parents then seem to really understand and now beging to
*comply*, while others simply stop coming.  I always worry about those babies.
Clearly this needs more though on my part and a resolution that I can become
comfortable with.
Yaffa Stark, MA, IBCLC