My hospital is working toward becoming baby friendly. This entails that we promote rooming-in and breastfeeding, which I have no problem at all with- what I do have a problem with is how we are being presented with it- and how we must now interact with our patients. Our patients come from a very diverse spectrum of cultures who are set in their ways and I guess I don't really feel it's my place to be like "well welcome to America- this is how we do it, too bad so sad."
We have been ordered to move all formula, nipples and pacifiers to the back room of the nursery (which has also undergone a name change to make it less accessible and friendly sounding) so that NOBODY sees it, patients or family. We don't want them to think we promote formula or artificial nipples. We are instructed now to council every mother who has chosen to formula feed, or do breast/bottle combo on the "dangers of feeding formula to your baby". Yes, these very words were uttered and in writing. There's serious talk of making the mother sign an informed consent before giving the baby any formula- acknowledging that she is aware that she is causing harm to her baby by giving him/her formula, and that they understand that breast milk is superior to formula.
We must extensively chart WHY mom is choosing formula. We have to now keep all the shades in the nursery down so that people don't look in, and THINK it's a nursery and again to make it an in-accessible place.
This really seems out of hand to me. I love where I work, I love the field but boy, we are in for some troubles when a mom from another culture other than white-upper class wants to put their baby in the nursery so they can sleep, or can go for a walk, or wants to formula feed and then gets a 20 minute lecture implying that they're a bad mom for choosing this method. Is this true of any other hospitals out there that are baby friendly or are in the process? I feel like they're trying to brainwash us, or like it's becoming a cult-like atmosphere!
Nothing, LilyRoseCNM. Nothing at all. I am a nurse of 27 years. Early in my career, I had the privilege of studying under 2 world-renowned breastfeeding experts. Their training has guided my practice for all of these years. Recently, I left the familiar confines of maternal child nursing for a new venture where I have the opportunity to counsel young adults on a wide range of health practices and decisions, including breastfeeding in the workplace. It is a very different perspective than my previous practice of hospital-based nursing.
In post early in this thread, IrishIzRN made the comment that sometimes educating on the benefits of breastfeeding is not enough, that specific information on the risks of formula must also be presented. This struck a note with me, as most of the young people I encounter are not swayed by potential benefits to their own health, especially those that may be delayed, such as a lower risk of breast cancer. Few 20-somethings base immediate decisions on health benefits that may be realized decades in the future. Concerns about immediate risks to their infants are a different story, hence my desire for information from a reliable (non-popular press source) that addressed risks of formula only, not paired with breastfeeding benefits. I don’t question the importance of the article that you posted, but it was not what I was looking for.
I am terribly sorry if my inquiry irritated you, but I am no longer in a setting where I can access scholarly databases. So if challenging questions annoy you, please scroll past and ignore my posts. There is no need to belittle a colleague who is on your side, where breastfeeding is concerned, at least.
To IrishIzRN, Thank you for your information. I am eager to read thru it. I have one particular client in mind who I believe is open to persuasion and support.
The removal of benefits from breastfeeding is the same as creating risk by using infant formula...
Actually, I would respectfully disagree with this statement. This assumes that the only 2 alternatives in infant feeding are human milk and infant formula. While I believe most would agree that these are the only acceptable options in our culture and healthcare system, there are families who make other choices. Have you had the experience of educating parents and families and working with medical providers and social services when parents choose cow's milk, goat's milk or a plant-based liquid diet?
Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
Actually I would respectfully disagree with this statement. This assumes that the only 2 alternatives in infant feeding are human milk and infant formula. While I believe most would agree that these are the only acceptable options in our culture and healthcare system, there are families who make other choices. Have you had the experience of educating parents and families and working with medical providers and social services when parents choose cow's milk, goat's milk or a plant-based liquid diet?[/quote']
I don't think it makes that assumption at all. I think when looking at those 2 items...it is true. Yes, there are other alternatives and those also have their risks and by using them also removing the benefits of breastfeeding (this creating risk). Introduce cow milk...risk of the milk and risks from not breastfeeding. Introduce goat milk...risk of the milk and risks from not breastfeeding.
The idea of risks from not breastfeeding is across the board no matter what the parents feed their baby if it is something other than human milk.
Nothing, LilyRoseCNM. Nothing at all. I am a nurse of 27 years. Early in my career, I had the privilege of studying under 2 world-renowned breastfeeding experts. Their training has guided my practice for all of these years. Recently, I left the familiar confines of maternal child nursing for a new venture where I have the opportunity to counsel young adults on a wide range of health practices and decisions, including breastfeeding in the workplace. It is a very different perspective than my previous practice of hospital-based nursing.
In post early in this thread, IrishIzRN made the comment that sometimes educating on the benefits of breastfeeding is not enough, that specific information on the risks of formula must also be presented. This struck a note with me, as most of the young people I encounter are not swayed by potential benefits to their own health, especially those that may be delayed, such as a lower risk of breast cancer. Few 20-somethings base immediate decisions on health benefits that may be realized decades in the future. Concerns about immediate risks to their infants are a different story, hence my desire for information from a reliable (non-popular press source) that addressed risks of formula only, not paired with breastfeeding benefits. I don’t question the importance of the article that you posted, but it was not what I was looking for.
I am terribly sorry if my inquiry irritated you, but I am no longer in a setting where I can access scholarly databases. So if challenging questions annoy you, please scroll past and ignore my posts. There is no need to belittle a colleague who is on your side, where breastfeeding is concerned, at least.
To IrishIzRN, Thank you for your information. I am eager to read thru it. I have one particular client in mind who I believe is open to persuasion and support.
I don't need to scroll past, because your "challenging questions" didn't irritate me in the least. I simply felt from the tone of your posts that you were definitely NOT on "my side," because you seemed to be persistently skeptical that formula has risks. My apologies if the purpose of your repetitive questions was misunderstood.
- Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within an hour of birth. Easy peasy in healthy term newborn kids....put 'em on mom's chest and leave 'em alone. I've done full assessments, shots, drops, measurements, blood sugars, etc. with babe on Mom. Skin to skin boosts prolactin and oxytocin, keeps babe warm, and calms him down enough so he can get himself organized and latch well.
Argh. THIS!
When my daughter was born, after the peds team checked her out (meconium in amniotic fluids), I asked for her to be placed on me. The nurse placed her there and walked out. Didn't offer help with latching. Note, I would have thanked her and refused, but I would think part of her assessment would be to verify latch. Either way, after maybe 20-30 minutes, she came back in and said she needed to take the baby to the nursery. I wasn't allowed to go because I hadn't gotten up since the epidural. At this point, my daughter had been successfully latched on for about 5 minutes. It had taken me that long to get her to take the nipple properly. I tried to refuse, tell her they could check her later. Was told the pediatrician was only in house for a little bit and was leaving after checking out my daughter. Basically, I had no choice. I had to almost threaten bodily harm if they dared to give her formula while she was there or if they gave her her first bath. The nurse looked at me like I had just sprouted a couple extra heads.
I mean, there has to be some middle ground, right? Lol. Either you get grief from staff for choosing not to BF, or you get treated like a mutant for wanting to do so.
I have no problems with most of your initiatives. I think it's silly to have to sign a consent form for formula, so long as you are talking to mom about her choice it's fine. We do give out a pamphlet on formula feeding to moms who choose to do so.
Our hospital is baby friendly, we do have formula in the back for those that can't/won't breastfeed. We however do not have any pacifiers in our facility nor do we have a nursery.
I don't see what the problem is with rooming in, many places do it. Before we went this route we took it to the public and rooming in is what was wanted. We allow dad or a support person to stay with mom over night and help so it's not like they are alone. The only ones that grumble are the ones who want to leave the baby with us and go for a frequent and "quick" smoke and are annoyed that there is no one to stay with the baby. If you are well enough to go for fresh air then you are well enough to have baby with you. If the mom is unwell that's different and they can either have dad/support person there to care for baby or alternatively we take a staff member to special care to look after baby if mom is alone. We get very few complaints about the model and before anyone says I don't know what it's like, I've delivered twice with this model of care including a difficult forceps delivery and will be doing it a 3rd time shortly.
I am a Med/Surg RN but wanted to give my personal experience on the issue. When I had my son 22 years ago it was THE most awful experience of my life! After 23 hours of labor, including 4 hours of pushing baby & 1.5 hours of pushing placenta...I didn't even know what day it was. All I wanted was a couple hours to sleep/recover because I couldn't even lift my arms I was so completely exhausted. The nurse told me they do not take the baby & that he had to stay in the room with me. So guess what, he stayed in the room with my mother taking care of him for me so I could get at least a couple hours rest. I was infuriated & it only helped to make that awful experience even worse! Whoever's idea that crap was needs to be put in my circumstance & rethink that decision!
This is appauling to me as a nurse. We have 2 patients, not just 1. The mother deserves to be treated with respect and cared for too!
I just had a baby 2 months ago. Thank god the hospital I delivered at wasn't like this! I sent baby out to the nursery at night. I had gotten 1.5 hours of sleep before waking up in labor, then labored for 14 hours drug-free. The night before that one I had only gotten 2 hours. So I was SO exhausted going into labor. Then you go through this HUGE ordeal, and no one lets you sleep. It's like a slow torture. You are constantly disturbed for vitals, post partum checks, feeding the baby, dietary, photographer, birth certificate lady, doctors, then your own visitors. I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and it totally interfered with bonding with my baby. i HATED BREASTFEEDING because he was constantly hungry and i didn't know what to do. We'd just get done feeding and 20 mins later, he'd want to eat again. No one showed me what to do either. The LC just came in the 2nd day and asked if he had a tongue tie (I didn't even know what that was... so how would i know?) said he was having enough wet diapers and BMs and left. Again, was just told to keep BFing. I had so much BFing pressure I just wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
Then the second night he cried and cried and cried, and I was all alone. Didn't know what to do and just started crying.An aide came in and was an angel. She said sometimes baby's just cry, he is fed and clean and she took him to the nursery for me and i got a couple hours of sleep. I am so grateful to her!
Soon as we got home from the hospital I stuck a pacifier in his mouth. And that night, after he screamed till 7am, I gave him 2 oz of formula and he fell asleep. I was so beyond exhausted and a basket case at that point since he was so hungry (milk hadn't come in) and all anyone told me was "keep breastfeeding". He's been nursing, getting pumped milk AND getting formula ever since. Goes between breast and any bottle no problems. And loves his binkie. I think it's expected a little bit that the hospital is judgmental and not very helpful. My experience wasn't even that bad compared to what the OP stated. I'd like to see post partum care that actually supports the mother. And FTR: Breastfeeding doesn't have to be all or nothing either, my god, it's such a near-impossible standard that they try to hold you too and then wonder why so many new mothers are depressed!
My mother BF all of her kids to 1 year. However she thought it was crazy that in the hospital, they interrupted me in the middle of the night to feed the baby. Because in the 80s and 90s when she had kids, they gave the baby bottles of formula during the night to let the mother sleep. And clearly, it did not affect the breastfeeding relationship. Why has it become SUCH a huge issue now?
This is appauling to me as a nurse. We have 2 patients, not just 1. The mother deserves to be treated with respect and cared for too!
I just had a baby 2 months ago. Thank god the hospital I delivered at wasn't like this! I sent baby out to the nursery at night. I had gotten 1.5 hours of sleep before waking up in labor, then labored for 14 hours drug-free. The night before that one I had only gotten 2 hours. So I was SO exhausted going into labor. Then you go through this HUGE ordeal, and no one lets you sleep. It's like a slow torture. You are constantly disturbed for vitals, post partum checks, feeding the baby, dietary, photographer, birth certificate lady, doctors, then your own visitors. I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and it totally interfered with bonding with my baby. i HATED BREASTFEEDING because he was constantly hungry and i didn't know what to do. We'd just get done feeding and 20 mins later, he'd want to eat again. No one showed me what to do either. The LC just came in the 2nd day and asked if he had a tongue tie (I didn't even know what that was... so how would i know?) said he was having enough wet diapers and BMs and left. Again, was just told to keep BFing. I had so much BFing pressure I just wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
Then the second night he cried and cried and cried, and I was all alone. Didn't know what to do and just started crying.An aide came in and was an angel. She said sometimes baby's just cry, he is fed and clean and she took him to the nursery for me and i got a couple hours of sleep. I am so grateful to her!
Soon as we got home from the hospital I stuck a pacifier in his mouth. And that night, after he screamed till 7am, I gave him 2 oz of formula and he fell asleep. I was so beyond exhausted and a basket case at that point since he was so hungry (milk hadn't come in) and all anyone told me was "keep breastfeeding". He's been nursing, getting pumped milk AND getting formula ever since. Goes between breast and any bottle no problems. And loves his binkie. I think it's expected a little bit that the hospital is judgmental and not very helpful. My experience wasn't even that bad compared to what the OP stated. I'd like to see post partum care that actually supports the mother. And FTR: Breastfeeding doesn't have to be all or nothing either, my god, it's such a near-impossible standard that they try to hold you too and then wonder why so many new mothers are depressed!
My mother BF all of her kids to 1 year. However she thought it was crazy that in the hospital, they interrupted me in the middle of the night to feed the baby. Because in the 80s and 90s when she had kids, they gave the baby bottles of formula during the night to let the mother sleep. And clearly, it did not affect the breastfeeding relationship. Why has it become SUCH a huge issue now?
See, I absolutely believe in rooming in, but I'd be the first to go get a crying baby if mom was alone, exhausted, with no support.
Get this. The nurse where I delivered barely came to my room at all, but then they insisted on telling me that anything short of breastfeeding every two hours (that's right, TWO!!) was basically poor parenting or something. I just told them what they wanted to hear, and fed on demand. I had so much colostrum it came out in a spray. Waking up a comfortably sleeping newborn who lost barely any weight, had plenty of wet and dirty diapers, every two hours? Yea, ok, I'll get right on that.
Jolie, BSN
6,375 Posts
Nothing, LilyRoseCNM. Nothing at all. I am a nurse of 27 years. Early in my career, I had the privilege of studying under 2 world-renowned breastfeeding experts. Their training has guided my practice for all of these years. Recently, I left the familiar confines of maternal child nursing for a new venture where I have the opportunity to counsel young adults on a wide range of health practices and decisions, including breastfeeding in the workplace. It is a very different perspective than my previous practice of hospital-based nursing.
In post early in this thread, IrishIzRN made the comment that sometimes educating on the benefits of breastfeeding is not enough, that specific information on the risks of formula must also be presented. This struck a note with me, as most of the young people I encounter are not swayed by potential benefits to their own health, especially those that may be delayed, such as a lower risk of breast cancer. Few 20-somethings base immediate decisions on health benefits that may be realized decades in the future. Concerns about immediate risks to their infants are a different story, hence my desire for information from a reliable (non-popular press source) that addressed risks of formula only, not paired with breastfeeding benefits. I don’t question the importance of the article that you posted, but it was not what I was looking for.
I am terribly sorry if my inquiry irritated you, but I am no longer in a setting where I can access scholarly databases. So if challenging questions annoy you, please scroll past and ignore my posts. There is no need to belittle a colleague who is on your side, where breastfeeding is concerned, at least.
To IrishIzRN, Thank you for your information. I am eager to read thru it. I have one particular client in mind who I believe is open to persuasion and support.