Winnie says,

> It looks like we will be told we cannot recommend things like
> fenugreek or More Milk to our moms.  It is being labeled as
> "prescribing".

Winnie -- I'm way behind in reading e-mails, but this caught my eye.  We
discuss this issue a lot in our courses, and the group is generally divided
about what is "prescribing" and what isn't.  We talk about writing
prescriptions vs talking to moms about taking ibuprophen instead of
acetominaphen for mastitis, about recommending herbs -- or just saying
"Geeze, you could read this page in Kathleen Huggins' book, "The Nursing
Mother's Companion" vs recommending the use of cabbage for engorgement (is
that prescribing a vegetable???), or eating watermelon to reduce edema
([prescribing a fruit???).  Wonderful discussions about this all -- and
generally what it boils down to is, "What does your nurse practice act say in
YOUR state?"  For those who are non-nurses without another sort of "act"
there is nothing in the ILCA S of P or the IBLCE Code of Ethics that says
what we as IBCLCs can and cannot do.  If you are working in a health care
facility, it might be useful to have some written and approved protocols so
your hands aren't completely tied.

Jan Barger, RN, MA, IBCLC, RLC
Lactation Education Consultants
www.lactationeducationconsultants.com

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