I just found the post quoted below in a search of the archives - about 
formalizing ties between LLL and hospital discharge. This is a subject 
I've been very interested in (I posted a couple weeks ago wondering how 
people are formalizing follow-up, and got a couple of great responses - 
thanks!). I had an interesting talk with our in-house pediatrician who 
checks out about half the babies on postpartum (she does rounds for many 
of the local practices) - we talked about a mom who complied readily with 
all discharge orders related to "medical" issues (such as returning for a 
bili check), but kept putting off calling the lactation consultant (when 
there were significant issues at discharge). I pointed out to the 
physician that the patient followed the written orders, but not the verbal 
ones. The physician was very receptive to writing out the recommended bf 
follow-up for moms. That conversation combined with the post I found makes 
me wonder if bf-friendly peds/discharge nurses would be willing to write 
written referrals to LLL/private LCs when patients are discharged not yet 
feeding well - it would not technically be a medical order, but anything 
written (esp on a prescription-size pad) coming from the hospital carries 
such weight with new parents. But then what would it look like from there? 
Obviously the "call if you have problems" doesn't really work - but maybe 
a written order to call at 48 hours (and does LLL need notification that 
this will be happening?? - is this taking advantage of volunteer services? 
Is this completely inappropriate??) I'm trying to think of ways to 
formalize follow-up for those of us not fortunate enough to have a post-
partum clinic or staff paid to do post-discharge checks. A lot of our moms 
have great insurance that allows for LC visits at home - but even they are 
not taking advantage of it. It seems that just getting it in writing from 
the hospital would make a difference. 
Sorry for the length - in the words of Mark Twain - "I was going to write 
a short post, but I didnt' have time, so I wrote a long one". 
Kirsten Berggren, PhD, CLC
www.workandpump.com

Here is Sara Demmon's post from 2001 that got me thinking about LLL:
I was wondering if there is a practice in many areas of referring mothers 
to
La Leche League (assuming there is a group in the area) before they are
discharged from the hospital.  Our local Group has once again begun
attending Breastfeeding Task Force meetings in our area (although these
meetings are very sporadic), and we have found that the general practice
here is to refer mothers to us only when "they don't have an actual
breastfeeding problem, but just want support".  Which means it doesn't
happen very often.  Although I have referred moms to their doctor or LC
several times, many of the helping calls I receive as a LLL Leader are from
moms who are experiencing problems related to lack of information/support
during the hospital stay.  We are hoping to increase our visibility in the
area so that mothers, as well as the medical community, become more aware 
of LLL as a place to go for actual help with breastfeeding problems, as 
well as general support.

As a Leader who has great respect for the wealth of knowledge that 
Lactation Consultants, nurses, and doctors have that work with moms in the 
hospital setting, I am wondering what ideas the "medical" types on this 
list might
have for creating a more active partnership between the medical and
non-medical community regarding breastfeeding support - especially once the
mom & baby are discharged from the hospital.  Is there a way to "break in"
to the circle of nurses and doctors, from which we are currently excluded,
without stepping on their toes?  As a LLL Leader, I do not give out medical
advise, of course.  But LLL does have a wealth of information available to
me as a Leader, and what amazes me is that often it seems to be more
accurate and up-to-date than the information our local doctors give to the
moms. How much more effective we would all (doctors, nurses, LCs, WIC, 
LLLL) be if we worked together!

Sara Demmon
LLLL in Wisconsin, where anything not tied down has probably blown into 
Lake Michigan!

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