A nurse from a local hospital with two part time LC's on staff plus other
OB nurses that are IBCLC called to ask me to come to the hospital to
issue an electric pump to a mom that wanted to nurse but whose baby was
in special care due to pneumonia from meconium.  When I arrived I was
warmly greeted and taken to the mom who was nursing her baby in the
special care nursery.  The baby was latching beautifully and had a nice
nursing session.  I explained the pump to the mom through an interpreter
who is also a peer counselor.  It is so nice when things fall together so
well.  The peer counselor she met will keep in touch with her and help
with any problems she might encounter. I must say I was amazed at the
instant repoire when someone shares the native language.  I never would
have been able to help this mom the way the peer counselor did.  Even if
I was able to deliver the same information it would not have been
recieved the same way.

 Here is the problem:  when I commented to the nurse that it would be
nice if the baby could get the expressed milk in something other than a
bottle so that the baby would not "forget" how to properly latch she said
that they have no policy in place and that the LC's on staff have tried.
She would like me to try coming from the patient satisfaction angle as
that is what the hospital will listen to.  She feels WIC could play a
major role in getting some sort of policy established.  I was hesitant to
act before because I did not want to "step on toes" of the LC's that are
employed there, but now I have their blessing!  I am on a mission and I'm
hard to stop when I get this way but I need suggestions!  Thanks ahead of
time to all you wise lactnuts!

Ilene Fabisch, IBCLC, LLLL
WIC Bfing Coordinator
Brockton, MA

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