Heather, I know exactly what you mean, when you wrote, "mothers are
sometimes too scared to go to the clinic because they are worried about the
weighing...
I even felt it myself with my first two - even though I could see my
gorgeous babies were thriving and I knew bf was going well. The anxiety as
they were placed on the scales was acute".

A while ago I worked with a baby who wasn't thriving, so that the Clinic
Sister was wanting to weigh the baby frequently - about twice each week as I
recall.  The mother was so unnerved by this that she would pop into my
office before each Clinic visit to weigh the baby on my scales.  If the baby
had seemed to have gained she would keep the Clinic visit.  If not, she
would call and delay the check-up another couple of days!!  What does this
say about weighing?  That it's not the *scales* which are the problem, but
the *person* behind the scales, whom the mother perceives to be making
unkind judgements which reflect badly on her mothering.  Mostly, of course,
every mother is doing her level best - she just needs more help to identify
what the problem is for a slow-gaining or FTT baby.

Personally, I think weighing a baby is one really important measure we have
to assess whether he is doing well.  Those numbers always tell a story.  The
weight and the difference in weights over time warn us of a baby who needs a
bit more investigation or whose mother needs more specific help with
breastfeeding.  They can be used to identify retrospectively when a problem
occurred, and so give a clue as to what needs to be changed now in order to
remedy it. On the other hand they can also be used to praise the mother
whose baby is gaining well, and make her feel really proud of her ability to
"successfully" breastfeed.

To me, the scales are a really useful tool and in antenatal classes and
working with new moms I strongly recommend weighing weekly for about the
first six weeks so that the baby's growth and food intake can be monitored
and any problems identified sooner, rather than later.  Of course, not all
of them listen ......

Pamela Morrison IBCLC, Zimbabwe
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