I wanted to add a personal anecdote to the discussion on hearing tests and breastfeeding: my son spent four days in NICU because of meconium aspiration (initial APGAR of 1), and it was one of the most trying experiences of my life. ABR testing was routinely performed on babies before discharge, but I declined the test. To be honest, I should say that I did so partly based on misinformation. (I thought sedation was required.) But I'm also a pediatric speech pathologist, and I would have been on the alert if he had been three seconds late with a speech-language milestone. The real issue, though, was that I was sick of the NICU--sick of feeling like my child was a pathological process waiting to happen, or nothing more than a checklist, or not really my child but the property of the unit (and maybe they would let me hold him if I was good). ABR testing was one more procedure, one more way to say "ooh, maybe *this* is wrong with your child," and it meant one more stranger handling him less gently than I would. I knew I could decline the test without compromising his well-being, and so I did. The staff did not support my decision. I'm just musing here, but I wonder if rigidity about procedures like ABR is connected to rigidity in other areas. This unit, for instance, did a dreadful job with helping us get breastfeeding off the ground. When I balked at giving my expressed milk in a bottle, they gave me a handout with a name like "Nipple Confusion: Does It Exist?" (you can guess what the conclusion was); when I wrote a letter afterward suggesting improvements--radical things like privacy, quiet, and comfortable chairs for nursing mothers--the unit manager called me up and said, "Nice thought; sorry you had trouble; there's no way we can make those changes." Please note: I am a staunch proponent of early detection/intervention for children with hearing impairment. I also don't mean to bash NICU staff: you guys have a tough job which I am sure you usually perform with compassion and gentleness. Unfortunately, that was not our experience. I just wanted to offer our story to support Valerie's suggestion that innocuous-seeming procedures may not be so innocuous. Jamie Smith LLLL in Edinburgh (this was an American hospital, btw) P.S. My son made an uncomplicated recovery and nursed beautifully after his jailbreak (oops, I mean discharge). *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html