Just wanted to add my thoughts to this thread. We have unlimited visiting
hours.  Even unrelated children can come in the room. Many moms express to
me that it is overwhelming.  I am working on a solution.  Cell phones are
interesting. Do cell phones explode if they are not answered?  It appears
that is the case they way moms scramble for their phones when they ring. I
was helping a mom and we just got baby latched well after a slew of poor
feedings and her cell rang.  She wanted to answer it so I had to support
her breast and baby. Then her room phone rang and she had to answer that
too!

It is almost funny, but sad, when I hear the nurses say that mom is
exhausted because baby kept her up all night so they took baby from her for
awhile so she could get some sleep. We're quick to blame mom's exhaustion
on baby and think the solution is to take baby away when the truth is mom
is exhausted from outside interruptions and the solution should be take
away visitors and phones and leave mom and baby together. A nurse told me
that many times mom will request baby be taken to the nursery so she can
sleep and the nurse will find mom awake and watching TV and/or on the phone!

In my class I am trying to think of suggestions.  One is turn off the cell
phone and leave a message for callers. Have a designated caller so people
can call this person for details about the birth and baby and condition of
mom and this person can start a phone chain to let all of the friends and
family know the good news. Have a dry erase board on the door so mom can
leave notes to visitors or have do not disturb signs.

We have a lot of student nurses from our university and the VoTec program.
They perform assessments on moms and babies.  These assesments are done
seperate from what the nurses do and are only for the sake of training.  I
know training is important, but there has to be another way.  How do other
hospitals deal with this?

Christine Lichte, IBCLC, LLL Leader

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