Hi Ruth and everyone following this thread ;-)

I had and still have a lot of concerns about test weighing,
but most of my theoretical concerns about test weighing have turned  
out in practice not to be true...

I never rely on one test weighing to tell me much because I don't  
like snapshots of breastfeeding...
I don't use the scale with the vast majority of women I counsel  
because it is unnecessary...

But when there is a need for them I find the pros to far outweigh the  
cons...
Mothers of course need to be educated that babies like other people  
do not consume the same amount
of milk at every feeding and the breast has a circadian rhythm...

One situation where I find the scale particularly effective is the  
situation where the mother has a chronic undersupply
due to breastfeeding practices that emanate from a flawed belief system
  i.e. that babies ought to sleep through the night and eat on parent  
directed feeding schedules...
The scales demonstrate to the mother,  however much she wishes  
otherwise,
the breast works best at night and the amount of milk she can produce  
in a 24 hour period is related to how frequently she nurses...

Another situation where scales are particularly helpful is with the  
premie mom and baby...
When a baby is breastfeeding and has an NG tube the amount the baby  
is tube fed can be adjusted accordingly,
and it is a help with transitioning to full breastfeeding...it helps  
the baby get off the tube as soon as possible
and prevents the tube from being removed too early...

Another area where I find the scale to be invaluable is helping the  
mom of the hospitalized baby...
I hope this is not true everywhere but where I live if a breastfed  
baby is hospitalized, regardless of the reason for the hospitalization,
invariable someone- a nurse or a doctor asks the mother to pump and  
bottlefeed so they can account for the intake...
Now you and I know that bms and wet diapers are usually sufficient  
measures of intake,
but when I bring the mom a scale and she can demonstrate that  
breastfeeding works!
The nurse or doctor cannot argue with the scale and the subject of  
pumping and bottlefeeding is dropped
at least until the shift changes and another breastfeeding skeptic is  
assigned to the mother-baby pair...

A scale should never be used in the normal course of nursing but used  
judiciously it can be invaluable IMO.

Warmly,
Jen O'Quinn IBCLC

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