LATCH has the most research attached.  Personally I like Chris Mulford's MBA (Mother-Baby Assessment) however, no research supports it. I think LATCH is used in many hospitals because the name is catchy.  I may be wrong, but I don't think nurses like it.
 
I found a chapter in a book Management of Acute Malnutrition in Infants (MAMI) Project.  Chapter 7 by Jenny Saxton is A Review of Breastfeeding Assessment Tools which lists 15 (!) tools and evaluations of these tools in research articles.   The author states "No single tool or set of tools was identified for use in MAMI."  Many tools are either too narrow in scope or have not been robustly validated against nutritional or health outcomes, or applied in nutritionally vulnerable developing country/emergency settings." About 1/2 of the tools were suitable for in-patient use. "There is no tool that is sufficiently sensitive for community use or specific for inpatient settings,  It is likely that different tools will be needed for each setting, and possibly a third that is a balance of both for use in primary healthcare services."

Another tool was mentioned recently on Lactnet.  The Via Christi BF Assessment Tool, sort of an Apgar style tool.  I believe it is being use in CA.
 
So for those of you in the hospital - go to it gals, there is research to be done, tools to be invented or modified to make them valid!  Pat in SNJ (the lactation assessment files are about 3 inches thick.  Most studies done in 90's!)

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome