Jeanette wrote in reply to my comments about hospital nursing and breastfeeding. I really appreciate this bit of reality check. Although this hospital is tiny and can have from zero to five [there is room for one or two more] moms there at a time I think they're lucky to have a better ratio of nurses to mother/baby dyads than your hospital, Jeanette!! I am used to seeing babies who are three or four days to three weeks old when their moms call me with TROUBLE. I usually see them at their homes [sometimes in other area hospitals] where it is more comfortable, they are more comfortable and where I can help them find a "nursing station' to get situated in - a good chair or sofa, whatever. It was a shock for me to see such a young baby shutting down at the breast - on strike - while still in the hospital. I thought that type of reaction set in later. So I have some mental adjustments to make if I see hours-old babies. Your post is very helpful. It will give me a better attitude when I am working with the nurses, more empathy, etc. The baby is doing better and has even gained weight so I'm glad I just went over how to help the baby open wide and how to get a comfortable latch-on and didn't alarm them in any way. With preseverence this mom has hung in there and they are learning how to make it work. But since my work will still be mostly dealing with moms calling after discharge to the Outpatient Lactation Clinic and precepting an RN (who has been designated as a lactation nurse who show interest in expanding her knowledge and will take the exam next year) I think I'll get exposed to this slowly and learn how to deal with babies coming off of the effect of medications. Thanks. Mardrey