I didn't realize how she would take it to heart

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Specializes in postpartum.

A few weeks ago I had a patient who was having a hard time breastfeeding. She told me that she wasn't how committed she was to breastfeeding, and that she just wanted to try it while she was in the hospital and help was available.

We had a long conversation about breastmilk vs. formula, and pros and cons of breastfeeding and bottlefeeding.

I ran into this same family a little while ago, and this mom told me that she's still trying to nurse her baby, and she pumps so that her little one gets all the advantages of breastmilk even if she isn't nursing. And the reason she is doing this instead of giving the baby formula is because I encouraged her.

I really am blown away on how big of an impact I had. It just kind of warmed my heart, and I wanted to share.

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Nice to hear that sometimes our patients actually listen to what we tell them.

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Specializes in NICU.

Good for you :).

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Specializes in midwifery, NICU.

Rhee, you did a good job there!:yeah:

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I'm a huge proponent of breast-feeding...good for you for steering her in a good direction.

Also...I think this is a lesson for all of us (myself included)

We, as nurses, whether we believe it or not, are in a position of knowledge authority. Patients listen to us more often than we realize. We always have to be careful about what we say because sometimes patients remember the oddest things and take it to heart.

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Specializes in OB L&D Mother/Baby.

IT's nice to hear that we can and do make a difference in our actions and our words. Good job.

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

Good for you, Rhee. And yes, it is really nice to be reminded that our patients are listening more often than we realize.

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Specializes in OB.

Good to hear!

I always think it's such a fine line...

We used to get surveys that complained that patients felt "pressured" to breastfeed by staff, when we really just tried to teach and assist, or that stated they "didn't recieve enough support for their feeding preference" if we allowed them to switch to formula after they had difficulty with breastfeeding! (Even though they requested the bottles!) Ugh!

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