okay, i know the thread is about over, but here is something i don't know
(see? i admitted it) and i am wondering what you nicu-type neonatology-type
persons know about this.
i was recently "helping" a mother whose baby was in the nicu. trying to help
her dodge all the in-coming bad advice and incredible statements was an
interesting challenge. when she was allowed to breastfeed the baby the first
time, the nurse measured the amount the baby got at the breast by putting the
tube down, sucking out the stomach contents with a syringe, measuring, and
then squirting all back in the baby's stomach.
one of the most pathetic features of this little experience is that the mother
had already been hardened to this type of thing and it was only the baby who
vigorously protested and myself who was outraged.
the nurse informed the mother that test-weighing was not accurate enough
(don't they ever read anything? and more about their inaccurate weighing in a
minute), and that this was the "only way" they had to know how much the baby
got. any rational evidence for the need to do it this way? any reason for this
procedure?
well, it was apparent to even little ole (okay, i am not so little) me that
the milk was mixed with stomach liquids, etc. i could hardly view that as an
accurate measurement. anyway, the mother requested i return the next day and
do a test weigh, which i did. now tell me, since there are scales in the nicu,
and they weigh the baby every day, why would they favor the more intrusive and
seemingly less accurate measuring of intake?
in addition, after i had been around for a few days, the mother did not call
me to come back. apparently they began bottling the baby (who has a cleft
palate, among other things) with a squeeze bottle (earlier the nurse got very
upset when i taught the mother breast compression - "you CAN'T do that to that
baby, it will choke") containing EHM and "fortifier" - but they have convinced
these parents that everything they do is necessary so that their baby won't
die . . . and they are pretty blatant about this kind of stuff, at least
during my observation. these parents have just given in so they can get the
baby out sooner.
and the other business about weights - everything they decide about this
baby's feeding intake, etc., is based upon her birth weight and her current
weight. but, along the way, she had a shunt put in her head and it drained a
dramatic amount of fluid from her head; it was visibly smaller in
circumference after the surgery, after the fluid was able to drain. now tell
me how accurate the birth weight was in the first place?
carol brussel IBCLC
the person who "knows" fortifier is "ABM" despite claims to the contrary, so
tell me about the safety of squeezing this stuff into the mouth of this baby .
. . .
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