>If I remember correctly, there was initial delay in feeding, supplement
>in the nursery at least some nights, etc., and the average # of feedings
>in 24 hours was only 6-7 or so...
>
>I still harbor the hope that somewhere there is research from an
>institution of Baby-Friendly status to prove that nipple damage is NOT
>UBUQUITIOUS!
This is a post from more than 6 years ago (has it been that long???), well
worth re-posting (Ros has also done it as an editorial in Breastfeeding
Review).
--
Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC, LLLL Ithaca, NY
www.wiessinger.baka.com
The Three Sucklings - from Lactnet, Mon, 6 Nov 1995
Hospitals all over the world are now implementing the 10 Steps and there are
overwhelming data to support the long term value of these
breastfeeding-friendly practices. I recently spent 12 days doing a project
for WHO in Thailand, where 70% of hospitals are now Baby- Friendly. It
changed my thinking about breastfeeding and made me realise just how many of
the problems we LCs face, and people on the Lactnet write about, are
iatrogenic. The Thai breastfeeding message is ubiquitous, elegantly simple
and the answer to everything. ³The Three Sucklings². 1. Early suckling
(ie on the delivery table), 2. Frequent suckling (exclusive breastfeeding
and NO mother baby separation) 3. Correct suckling (good attention to
position and attachment.)
These are not token messages. No separation means that the mother stays
with the baby for everything. Frequent suckling means that the mother lies
in bed on her side with her baby at the breast. If you asked a mother how
many times per day she feeds, she would look at you strangely. Better to
ask whether the baby ever falls into a deep sleep and drops off the breast
for a while - they occasionally do.
We saw a lot of abandoned plastic cots. I was told that despite rooming-in
there had been a problem with jaundice. They got rid of the cots, put the
babies in the beds, and the jaundice stopped. That¹s frequent suckling,
folks, not what we play around with.
When you need beds desperately and mothers can¹t be discharged until
breastfeeding is established and going well (2-3 days), you do everything
to make it work. The mothers feed all day and the nurses walk around
fine-tuning positioning and helping as required. Where was the hypoglycemia,
engorgement, sore nipples, babies unable to latch, etc.? Not to be seen. I
never heard a baby cry. Yet these are medicated deliveries, 100%
episiotomy, up to 16% caesarian.
It seems that if the ³Three Sucklings² are really done well, the rest can
fall into place. Now if every doctor and every nurse throughout the world
knew and practiced these three things.... we could be bored, not burnt out.
Ros Escott, Australia
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
