Hello everyone,

I'm in a really frustrating situation and could use some help and advice.
In a nutshell,  about 6 months ago, my supervisor developed 2 patient
education handouts for our nursing staff to use with breastfeeding
parents.  One is regarding the risks of pacifiers and the other one is
about the risks of formula supplementation.  They contain information that
all of you would expect to see related to their impact on breastfeeding
success, ear infection risk with pacifiers and some of the infant health
risks (IDDM, allergies) associated with supplementation.  She did a lot of
research and everything is well documented.  The nursing staff uses them to
inform parents of the risks when they request supplementation or a
pacifier.  The parents are assured that it is their decision and we will
respect and support it, but that we want them to make an informed choice.

For some reason that hasn't been shared with us, the OB physicians decided
that these handouts are "outrageous" and "make their patients feel like
inadequate parents".  They demanded that they be pulled from the unit,
which they were.  Our unit director supports us and feels that the
physicians need to be educated. She has arranged a meeting for next week
Tuesday with the chief of OB.

I'm not worried about backing our claims with research.  We have plenty.
What I'd like is references that show women who make an informed decision
do not feel guilty when they choose not to follow advice, or something
along those lines.

Is anyone aware of research, that an MD would find "acceptable", that I
could add to our pile of ammunition?  We all strongly believe that we have
a professional and ethical responsiblity to provide our patients with
information and that withholding it from them is patronizing and
unprofessional.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

Frustrated and burnt out in Wisconsin....
Barb Fibich, RN, IBCLC

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