Dear friends;

As a student lactation consultant, and ready to graduate, I have been thrown
a real curve, and would love some feedback on a serious problem I have
encountered.
 As part of my practicum assignment for BSC, I have been working with a
mother for many weeks, following her prenatally, postpartum, and now the
baby is five weeks old. The baby's birth weight was 10.14 and a WIC check up
today revealed his weight to be 11 lbs. This is the first time she has been
to WIC with this baby.
 While working with this mother the past few weeks, I discovered that the
mother would do and say two different things. I asked her to keep a diary of
intake/output, she didn't do it. She went out of town, she would feed some
formula, she wouldn't pump when baby wouldn't nurse, she let him sleep for
12 hours at a time, uses a pacifier. (I assure you I did instruct her as to
the dangers of pacifier use and feeding establishment.) She took baby into
the dr, and when he discovered the baby wasn't to birth weight at three
weeks, he gave her intructions to nurse the baby more, or he'll order
formula. The baby 'gained 11 ounces in one week', she said. The 'dr was so
surprised that he weighed the baby twice'. But he told me today he hasn't
seen the baby up to birth weight yet. She failed to keep her appointment
with him last week, 'what's the use' she said.
 Yesterday I saw the couple at a LLL meeting, and I observed them for two
and a half hours. The baby never once woke up, never nursed, but sucked on
the pacifier. His eyes were a bit gunky. He wasn't flexed as a healthy
newborn is, but was lying out straight. At one point he tried to open his
eyes, they rolled around as if he was fighting, struggling to wake up, gave
up, and went back to zonkville.
 I called the mother's home tonight and briefly spoke with the father hoping
to talk some sense into the head of the household. He said that the baby had
been sleeping more than usual the past two days because the mother hadn't
been putting him down for naps lately, and he was extra tired. I said that I
was concerned because I had seen the baby yesterday and he was unusually
sleepy, and am concerned that the baby wasn't gaining weight. He didn't get
the idea. Said his wife would call me later.
 The dr told me today that he wanted to see the baby. How do you get a
mother to take a baby in when she is in denial as to the danger her baby is in?
 I thought I had pulled some strings to have the WIC office red flag this
mother/baby diad, but according to the father, WIC said the baby was at the
right weight for his age. EEERRRGGGHHH!
 Okay, folks, any ideas here would be welcomed. I have carefully charted
every phone call, every visit, every chat with the dr. I do not want to be
liable for not telling this woman how to properly bf her infant from before
day one. At the risk of sounding co-dependant, how do I get this mother to
become aware of the danger her infant is in to the point to where she will
take her baby to the dr? I fear it may be ready for the hospital!

Thanks,
Joya Bezette
LLLL, Student LC
Southern Utah