>Date:    Mon, 12 Aug 1996 22:58:02 -0400
>From:    the davis' <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: liability: using ABM
>
>Hi. Someone briefly mentioned this topic. I wondered, has anyone ever sued a
>hospital for giving ABM when a mother of a completely healthy newborn
>explicitly requests no pacifiers or bottles to be given?  My husband and I
>discuss this everytime I hear of a mom who runs into this (which is quite
>frequently, locally). The nurses often see an educated mother as a challenge
>when she wants to BF. I have heard nurses (as I use to work with many of
>them), one in particular, say "I hate these BF babies. All they do is cry."
>Then promptly put a bottle in the baby's mouth to "prove" something. I just
>wonder is this a case of "assault" for lack of a better word? If a mom
>refuses the use of ABM, puts it in writing, the ped. agrees and the baby is
>healthy, what if?


Boy I sure would at least write many angry letters to the hospital
administration, nurses college, etc etc.

One of the reasons I made sure I had my children room-in with me was to
be sure I fed them before they started to cry, and to make sure there was
no way they would get a bottle "by mistake" or whatever.



Karen Cunningham MD, CCFP London
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