In a message dated 1/26/0 3:32:56 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:

<< ....how can practitioners be intervening on the basis of the
amount of stooling when the consensus of Lactnet is that there is no
standard and we don't even have a unit of measurement?..... >>

good point

just a comment/clarification of opinion: seems to also be a consensus among
Lactnetters that a knowledgable healthcare provider probably would not
intervene *just* on the basis of the amount of stooling, but use that
important output assessment as a part of the total evaluation.

and, in reference to the assertion that "it's better to just look at the
baby".
agreed, but....

fact: many of the dyads that we have access to in the hospital may not see a
hcp for two weeks after d/c from the hospital.

this fact i cannot change this week.

what those of us in this situation can do is:
1)  encourage prenatal bf class
2)  offer a plan of how to be successful with bf
3)  encourage postpartum inpatient bf class - hopefully this will be a
review/clarification session for the previously educated new mom
4)  have helped to train and impart bf knowledge and support skills to staff
5)  offer a variety of follow-up support resources
6)  send new parents home with a concise set of guidelines, an outline of how
to  evaluate bf which will encourage and facilitate ample feedings, and
trigger a   phone call for any concern or variation that would indicate the
need for    reassurance or require guidance/intervention to correct before it
becomes a       problem.

Debbie

Deborah Tobin
RN BSN IBCLC LCCE
Springfield, Virginia USA
In the suburbs outside the Washington DC beltway

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