after describing the great outcome to a challenging situation, Marie
Davis, Rn, Clc wrote:

  "Mom thanked me profusely but I had to tell her I didn't do anything."

Oh but Marie, you **did** do something. You were there for the mother,
you encouraged her, you gave her information, and you supported her.

I wanted to respond to your long post of frustration a few days ago but
have had trouble coming up
with the right words-- and the time. My apologies if this runs long--
usually I like to sit in the corner and just listen here on Lactnet, but
today I want to send some supportive words to those who work so hard
supporting others.

 My daughter Julie was born in 1990, in a nice, big, private hospital in
a good-sized nearby city.
There was no breastfeeding class, no lactation consultant, no
informational brochures easily available
to me while I was pregnant (except for the ones from the formula
companies) or while in the hospital for 4 days following her Cesarean
delivery. I'd read books-- thought I knew what I was doing-- but I was
not prepared for any problems, and when they came I had no help. I asked
all the nurses and probably the housekeeping staff if they could help--
no one could, and the most interested "words of wisdom" I got came from
the night nurse who shrugged and said "Maybe you're just one of those
who CAN'T, hon."

Well, thanks to some well-timed phone calls to friends in other places,
some GOOD books, and my
own hard-headedness, Julie and I made it. I became a lay bf counselor 7
years ago. I'm in a small
town surrounded by other small towns, an hour's drive in two directions
from two bigger cities. Only
recently has one of the hospitals in our area added an LC to its staff,
and there are a couple in
hospitals in the two bigger cities. Our bf rate locally is terribly low.
I estimate that in those 7 years I
have been able to directly help 200 women breastfeed, and I hope that
indirectly I've helped
twice that many. It's not very many starfish, but I've done what I
could.

My son Jeff was born 2 years ago, in a hospital with an LC on staff.
She's a friendly acquaintance,
and she knew (as did the other nurses) that I would probably not need
help, but they checked on
me anyway. What a difference that would've made with Julie!

Since there are so few paid LCs in my area, I know very little about
their job
responsibilities, which I assume differ from place to place anyway. I
can guess that part of the job for
a hospital LC is to visit and be available to all women who plan "to try
to breastfeed." You are
probably working with some moms who don't have a strong motivation or
desire to breastfeed. My
belief is that a woman needs three things to have a good breastfeeding
outcome: 1)desire/motivation
2)knowledge and 3)support. The most skilled and caring LC in the world
can only have a direct impact on the last two factors.

Early in my "career," a nurse at a local hospital called me, frustrated.
A new mom "wanted to
breastfeed" but was having troubles-- could I call the mom? I did, and
it was the last time I will ever
contact a mother at the request of a third party. The nurse meant well,
was trying to help-- but the
mom didn't appreciate the "meddling." It was a hard way to learn a
lesson, but I learned it, and since
this is not a part of my "job description" I have the freedom to use
what I learned.

Those of you who are employed as LCs,  in hospitals, clinics or medical
practices, don't have that
freedom. You're pouring your hearts and souls into helping women who may
not really have a
burning desire to breastfeed. In addition, many of you are having to
deal with sabotage, lack of
funding, lack of teamwork,  and  politics in the workplace. I am so
impressed with the work that you
do under such challenging circumstances.

I don't feel that I have the knowledge of hospital life to answer all of
the 7 questions Marie posed.
My overall belief is that the other staffers you're dealing with
consider breastfeeding a "specialty." I
wish it could just be the norm. My gut feeling is that the attitude will
have to start with the highest levels of administration. I will answer
your fourth question, "Does every mother need a lactation consultant?" I
don't think so. I do think that just knowing an LC is available if a mom
runs into problems or questions can make a world of difference to that
mom, whether she does have problems or not. I think that all nurses who
work with new moms should be able to answer basic breastfeeding
questions, just as they can answer other questions related to
post-partum care.

 Erma Bombeck told a funny story in an old column-- about baring her
breasts to a hospital person, begging for help and being told "Ma'am I'm
here to fix the tv." (at least I think he was there to fix the tv-- it's
been a while since I read it.) I know that feeling of desperation, and
the point is, a mother who needs help should be able to get it from any
(medical) staffer who enters her room, and not have to wait "till the LC
can see you."

When all that changes, I suspect there will be less frustration and even
more joy for all of us who work with breastfeeding moms. I'm glad you
hospital-based LCs are there. I wish there more of you. You are really
making a big difference, and it matters. A lot.

Joanne Hamilton
Foley, AL

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