Fellow Lactnetters,
I'm jumping up and down with joy here in Lima! I went on a consult today at
a private birthing center style clinic where an American midwife and her
Peruvian OB/gyn husband have a terrific practice.  Baby was about 30 hrs.
old -- natural unmedicated birth -- and very sleepy. He showed no interest
in nursing.  The upshot was that baby had learned in utero to suck his
tongue and was very content and self-placating.  However, his sucking
patterns were pretty poor.  So we are using suck training combined with an
improvised supplementer (you learn to improvise all kinds of things down
here) to train baby to suck correctly and get sufficient fluid into him.
But the reason I am jumping up and down is because the pediatrician called
while I was there to ask MY opinion of the situation and how I thought it
should be handled. I explained about the disorganized suck and reverse
peristalsis of the tongue, and he asked how I knew that. So I told him how
I had diagnosed it.  He then said he was on his way to see the mom and
wanted me to demonstrate for him.  This is a ped. who was trained in the
states and did his residency there!  So he knew about LC's and their
benefits.  He watched eagerly as I showed him how to assess a baby's suck.
Then he tried it himself. It was a wonderful teaching time for all
involved.  He then asked how we could get some bf supplies (hospital
quality pumps, supplementers, etc. here)  I told him I would work on it and
get back in touch with him.
I hope this inspires all of us, especially those of us working in 3rd world
countries, to keep on looking for opportunities to make a difference. It
was especially encouraging to me, after a very discouraging meeting with
our boss (we're here as missionaries) last night in which he  criticized my
husband's language learning. It seems like we get encouragement when we
most need it!!
Warmly,
Glenni Lorick, BSE, IBCLC
Lima Peru
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