Royce anderson said:
"I have heard in
the past that other countries do not test weigh.  We test weigh ALL the
time!"

It's true, in Britain test weighing is now regarded by breastfeeding specialists
as something which you may occasionally hear of, but feel safe in completely
deconstructing as an effective diagnostic tool to mothers and colleagues.

True, it usually comes in the 'one off' variety, and I do not think I have heard
of a case of weighing after every feed.

Since joining Lactnet I have struggled to keep something of an open mind on this
topic and try to learn from the US contributors of the advantages and usefulness
of weighing.  I don't feel Ihave learned much about this, just that it is an
accepted proceedure and that some have posted with clear conviction that it
tells *them* something in their practice.  I don't doubt this, but am unclear
what it does tell them.

Sadly, the impression I have received of weighing being one of the core tools of
LC practice (am I right?  Sometimes impressions can be wrong), have certainly
led me to question whether I would ever want to take the exam and try to become
an LC (of course there are lots of other considerations, too).

It feels like an invasive and undermining proceedure to me.  I accept that this
is partly a habit reaction and partly a gut reaction, but I still have not
gleaned what is valuable about the proceedure.

In my experience, whenever someone starts meauring something about
breastfeeding:  weight, fat content of milk, length of time at the breast,
number of times up in the night, the horrible story of someone syringing the
milk out of the baby's stomach, etc. there is a negative impact on how the
mother experiences breastfeeding.

Perhaps it is inevitable.  After all we live in a society in which magazine
polls are constantly measuring things like how often their readers have
intercourse and orgasms, and how many partners they have slept with.  There is
then some judgement on you, depending how you score.  A few decades ago this
would have been undreamt of.  Perhaps my insistence that you cannot measure
every part of existence is anomolous and marks me out as terribly old-fashioned.

Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter
The Breastfeeding Network
Saddleworth, Greater Manchester, UK