One of the things that the L & D RN's would like is some suggestions for a
short and sweet conversation about feeding choices when they admit the
mother.  Right now, they just ask how she is planning to feed the baby.

Well I work in a Baby Friendly hospital and we dont ask the parents at
ANYstage of the pregnancy how they intend to feed their baby.We do give them
lots of information and opportunities to explore their own feeling without
being judged. If you can sell early, uninterupted skin-to-skin contact and
really persuade staff that this means exactly what it says, no taking the
baby off for obs or anything. Then you tell mothers that the baby will make
a journey to the breast and self-attach. This can take a few minutes or an
hour but is the MOST WONDERFUL experience in the world. It stimulates all
those hormones that enable mothering to be instinctive and natural, it calms
mother and baby after a difficult birth and is analgesic through suturing. I
usually say that even if a woman is planning to bottle feed (but I dont ask
her if she is), she might still be happy to have the skin contact and if her
baby attempts to breastfeed, she might be prepared to let him as the
colostrum is so valuable. And if she keeps an open mind, she might decide to
continue. Either way staff will respect any decision she makes and support
her to feed her baby safely whatever her choice.
I think the whole point of the BFI is that it creates an environment where
breastfeeding is seen as normal, natural and unremarkable.

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