Susan writes:
I swear switching to grams and centimeters would eliminate at least a good
chunk of mistakes in math.
~~ Ugh, and other than not doing math right in general there is the attempt
to mix base systems. I am seeing more and more babies whose parents tell me
the hospital or doctor gave their baby a birthweight of "six point seven". When
I ask if this means "six pounds, seven ounces" or less than six 1/2 pounds,
or "six pounds and 7/10 of a pound" which would be more than six and 1/2
pounds, they often don't know. If they can find their baby's info sheet,
sometimes we can figured it out by working off the grams, if they are also recorded.
Or the hospital says 6.7 means the first, when the doc's office says 6.7
means the second. It can be a real mess. This is a pain in the neck, but what's
worse is the numbers becoming nearly meaningless. A baby with a birthweight of
6 pounds,7 something,( dad thinks it means ounces, not tenths of pounds)
was down to 5, 7 on Day 3 with a bilirubin that went from 11 on Day 2 to 17 on
Day 3, and with no stool output. Mom was exclusively breastfeeding. Doc's
solution, no breastfeeding assessment/help, give a little formula after each
nursing, wrap baby in bili blanket and come back tomorrow. Doc told parents the
weight loss was "fine" just give a little formula "to top off" baby. I try to
explain that the weight loss and lack of stool and increasing bili # is
telling us something important, and that I think the baby needs to be fed, not
"topped off" with a set amount, 1/2 ounce. [Mom cannot hand express a drop on
Day 3, of anything]. Another baby a few weeks ago was still at 15 % below
birthweight on Day 18 ( same as day 5), and doc said "feed more often" on Day 5,
rechecked baby two weeks later only to find no change. The fact that the baby
was at breast constantly, and then had an 8 hour crying jag where he would
not even try to eat, finally got them to keep the second appointment they made
with me. Sometimes the numbers seem to be given a weight they don't deserve
( pun intended, I think) and other times they seem to just mean nothing, or
certainly the doctor and I are seeing their meaning quite differently.
Peace,
Judy
Judy LeVan Fram, PT, IBCLC, LLLL
Brooklyn, NY, USA
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