My friend and her baby came home today, bf  and doing everything else just
beautifully.  They survived:   the OB who performed the elective c-section two
weeks early since the baby was a whopping 8 1/2lbs (even though an older
sibling born two weeks early by c/s also had breathing problems at birth), the
NICU nurses who told her she was "allowed" to nurse only every three hours,
the Neonatologist who told her to go home and rest and let the nurses bottle
feed the baby (ABM of course), the husband who told her she should not "rock
the boat", the father who told her to listen to the "experts" and follow their
advice,  the policy that requires babies to suck sterile water before first
bf, the clerk who let babies cry hysterically until they finally gave up and
let her take a "good" picture,  the charge nurse who rescinded the earlier
shift's charge nurse's offer to let mom stay in the room after discharge so
she could be with her NICU baby, the perfume soaked, boisterous nurse that
kissed  baby all over her face and held her under her chin until baby's nose
ran from the chemical assault, and all the other ignorant, twisted, people who
with (mostly) very good intentions tried to help them.  I know, the mom could
have protected herself from some of this with better self-education and
communication skills but you really had to be there (I was all night, so
please forgive this sleep-deprived rant) to see how relentless the scourge of
ignorance is.  When we tried dialogue we were met with a response like "well,
dearie we understand that you have emotional needs but *we* have to do what is
best for baby" - as if they have a clue as to what that might be!!  Leslie had
read about Kangaroo care and knew that she was what was best for her baby.
The nursing staff only knew that the pizza delivery was 20 minutes away so
undressing the sleeping warm baby for a weight check was convenient at 1:15am
- and she could just learn to settle herself to sleep again (don't want to
spoil her).

So...Mom chose her battles, made compromises, cried, communicated, stayed with
baby on an uncomfortable cot all night, and yada yada yada... breastfeeding
works.  Who'd have thunk it?

Elaine
who knows that she really needs to get on a birth activism list serve - any
suggestions?