>Our policy is
>similar, first test is only done on LGA, SGA, or moms with DM, if 40 or lower
>we retest till above 45, but they immediatly get fed. If mom is
>breastfeeding we allow that IF it is a successful feed, usually we let one
>feed occur- and count it-even a marginal one and then recheck level after the
>feed, still low...we supplement.
This is *not* meant to be a flame of the person who posted the above
paragraph -- just my stream of consciousness thoughts that the paragraph
elicited.
The baby belongs to the mother/parents. It should be there decision
whether or not the baby's blood sugar is checked, after having been told
what the indications are for checking, what will happen if it is too high
or too low, or if no one knows what it is. I refused to let the nurse
check blood sugar levels on my 9 lb. 2.5 oz. newborn, who had major
shoulder dystocia during delivery. I am a *big* person. He was a big
baby, but perfectly within normal limits for a mother my size. There was
no need to test his blood sugar. Today, he is a *very big* 8 year old,
with especially big hands and feet, very broad shoulders and very long
arms, just like me. He nursed within an hour of being born and many many
times over the next days, weeks, months, years.
Hospitals should not be in the business of "allowing" a mother to
breastfeed. Mothers have a right to breastfeed. Hospitals should not be
supplementing unless there is a clear need for it -- and I can't imagine
any scenario in which a newborn *needs* formula supplementation in the
first 24 hours of life if breastfeeding is happening properly. If
breastfeeding is not going well, the mother should be pumping and giving
her own milk, not supplementing with formula by the nurses.
Feeling curmudgeonly this morning . . . .
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D. email:
[log in to unmask]
Anthropology Department phone: (409) 845-5256
Texas A&M University fax: (409) 845-4070
College Station, TX 77843-4352
http://www.prairienet.org/laleche/dettwyler.html
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