Naomi, as a hospital-based LC, I have to agree with
you.  There are so many required procedures regarding
the baby; now, in California, we also have neonatal
hearing screenings.  Don't forget baby pictures and
the Going Home class (one hour, of which BFing is
covered in about 5 minutes...sigh).

IMVHO, this is a window into how we, as a society and
a culture, value breastfeeding.  We pay it good lip
service, but actions speak louder than words.  There
is an underlying current that BFing is not important,
and we here on Lactnet all know differently.  It all
goes back to the work of wise women like Diane
Wiessinger and Kathy Dettwyler, among so many others,
on the influences of culture on every aspect of life.
When people who deeply value BFing are sitting on the
board of directors of health care organizations, that
effect will change how hospitals are able to provide
lactation services.

I work with a deeply committed group at my facility;
it is both an honor and a joy to be part of it.
However, some of the changes we dream of can only come
to fruition with the help of the "upper levels".  In
the meantime, we do what we can out in the trenches.


Carole Jernigan
RN, BSN, IBCLC
Mary Birch Hospital for Women
San Diego, California


__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM).
http://calendar.yahoo.com

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html