A follow-up survey of some of our clients resulted in two interesting
statistics
Sample size was 81 patients at average infant age of 2.5 months

Test: Early bottle feeding (formula or water) and duration of exclusive
breastfeeding after discharge:
1.  Ratio of first feed as bottle to early weaning
Of the 14 contacted who said the first feeding was a bottle feeding, 8 had
weaned by 6 weeks of age (57%)

2.  Ratio of bottles in hospital to early weaning
a) Of the 28 contacted who said they had given a bottle feeding in the
hospital: 17 had weaned by 6 weeks of age (60.7%)
b) An additional 10 were supplementing breastfeedings with formula (35.7% of
those gave bottles in the hospital)
This is 96.4 percent of the mothers who either weaned or were not exclusively
breastfeeding.
Of the 81 surveyed 32 were exclusively breastfeeding/ breastmilk feeding when
called.

Of course we will continue to monitor these two aspects of care.  One huge
problem is the use of bottles in the hospital (either as a first feed or
supplementation) is pretty much out of the Lactation Department's hands. We
can educate the moms but I need a buy in from both the nurses and the medical
staff.

Any comments?  Suggestions?
Marie Davis, RN, IBCLC