>Arly, I have mixed emotions about your "Breastfeeding: Medical Personnel Only"
>signs. On the one hand, I can see this would be a great help in giving mom the
>time to learn her baby and bf without the "help" of an endless stream of
>visitors (although my guess is that grandmothers would ignore those signs
>anyway....). However, it bothers me that we tie bf and the need for medical
>personnel together, especially in light of how many of those folks are not
>adequately trained to help with even the basics of positioning, timing, etc.
>And, it is ironic that we should have to keep out the very people who OUGHT to
>be a natural support system for these moms to help them with what they might
>have done successfully a few generations back. And it would be nice if we were
>such a breastfeeding culture that we would be comfortable nursing our babies in
>front of anybody, anytime, any place.

Melissa, You are absolutely right and I am in complete sympathy with the
points you have brought up.  However, the sign does seem to be an important
adjunct to breastfeeding success here.  "Endless stream" is an accurate
description, and the sign is good at keeping out neighbors, friends,
extended family members, church representatives (Relief Society, bishops,
the young men who offer sacrament), volunteers, and birth certificate
employees.  Not once in observing hundreds of family/friend groupings
around the bed have I seen anyone offering assistance with breastfeeding.
If the grandmother is pro-breastfeeding, she generally stays while I shoo
everyone else out.  Modesty is a strong cultural element here--nudity is
considered shocking even within locker rooms (of either gender).  I have
trouble getting these moms to let *me* see them breastfeed.  Before I
started getting more proactive about securing privacy, many first-time
breastfeeders were choosing to go home without any assistance rather than
either (a) learn in front of visitors or (b) ask visitors to step out of
the room.

If a lay breastfeeding counselor was available, I would let her know she
was welcome to ignore the sign.  (I have had an LLLI leader doing rounds
with me this term as part of her internship at the university, and she
knows the sign is not meant to keep her out.)

>Just out of curiosity, DO the grandmothers pay any attention to those signs?

Yup, everyone does (at least for now).

>Guess I better go before Kathy B sends me the oxygen mask for the thin air up
>here on the soap box again..... : )

I think expressing one's view as gently and positively as you have done
requires no apology! :-)

Arly Helm

[log in to unmask] (Arly Helm, LC)