Yay me! I stood up to a doctor...kind of - Page 2

[Meiri]

Well done!!!

Would that there were more nurses with both the knowledge and the intestinal fortitude to just ask such a simple and basic question of a doc on auto-pilot.

[mama24-7]

Whoooooo! Can we clone you and keep you round the clock in that hospital & all others, please? Way to go!

And, I second what a PP'er said about trying to get that in a newsletter or at least telling everyone you know about it. Think of what will happen if more nurses & mothers, too, keep asking these questions?!?!

Sus

[angelpie545]

We need more of 'em like you! Keep up the good work.

[isabchi]

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by Meiri

Well done!!!

Would that there were more nurses with both the knowledge and the intestinal fortitude to just ask such a simple and basic question of a doc on auto-pilot.

Exactly!!!

too for the doctor who actually listened and didn't say no automatically, and didn't belittle a nurse for questioning an order. This is how health care should happen! It sounds like the OP could be starting a new trend in the NICU

[rmzbm]

GREAT JOB!! That mama & babe are lucky you were there!

[jessjgh1]

Originally Posted by phreedom

Yes...I'm a dork.

i wanna be a dork like you then!!!

awesome job and not at all dorky-- but professional and compassionate!

Jessica (nak)

[MommytoTwo]

Honestly your post made me tear up. My full term baby w/ no problems was in the NICU. There should be many MANY more of you to go around.

Way to go!

[preemiemamarach]

you rock!

I'm a nurse and worked in a PICU that was more like a NICU (our NICU was closed, so any babies that left the unit for testing were admitted to PICU, and we got all the ECMO and heart babes). We had a few old-school docs who wrote that same order, and I was so happy during orientation (this was pre-babe days for me, so I didn't know any better) that a nurse questioned our doc as well for a mom who really wanted to BF.

As the mama of a NICU grad of my own now, I'm amazed by the lack of BF education the neos and their residents seem to get. our NICU was known to be very pro-BF, but they started ALL new babies on formula while waiting for cultures to be done on breast milk and colostrum! I had LOTS of colostrum, but couldn't give it to my babe for 4 days. Oh, and two nurses repeatedly would do my babe's tube feeds early and give him formula in the morning while I was ON THE WAY THERE with pumped BM. I had to sleep, and in the first few days I was *just* barely able to make enough to keep up with his feeds. I had to make 'absolutely NO FORMULA, breast milk ONLY' signs to put all over his bassinet. Even though it was all over the chart. Then I had to inspect the flow sheet every day to make sure someone didn't just get lazy and do it anyway.

Sorry for the rant- I'm just so impressed that you went the extra mile for this mama and baby. You go!!

[Cigilteach]

YOU ARE A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL WOMAN.

I had to stay next to my son in the NICU (jaundice) for three days so that he wouldn't be fed formula. There was a nurse mcuh like you there and I WILL NEVER FORGET HER FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. Just the sisterhood of her "getting it" gave me so much strength.

Much love to you! No offense, but I kinda wish we could clone you.

[chana613]

So beautiful!!

I had two babies in the NICU and was really stunned by some of the docs. (One doc--actually the head honcho there--assured me that if I nursed ONCE A WEEK, and used pumped breastmilk the rest of the time, there wouldn't be any problem with nipple confusion. He also told me she wouldn't be able to nurse for at least a month. WRONG!!! I enjoyed showing him how wrong he was.)

I love what you did, phreedom! You are great!!!

[MamaBear1976]

What you did was AMAZING. Hospitals need more people like you.

Originally Posted by phreedom

He said "Yes of course that is fine, whatever you think is best" No confrontation, no big deal. He's an old school doctor. He's very smart and I respect him. He's not anti BFing, but I don't think he is as educated on it as he should be.

Sounds like you are doing an excellent job of doing that (educating him). It also looks like you've got even more work to do on behalf of your fellow nurses, though, unfortunately. Still, you were a hero to at least two people (mom and baby), and an educator to at least 2-3 others (the doctor and nurses who witnessed what you did). You ROCK!!

He leaves stuff like that mostly up to the nurses. That's the way it's been done for years so it will keep on until someone says something. He used to be bad about writing order about supplementing BFing babies that had jaundice (old school). But the BFing council at the hospital go that changed. He no longer writes that as routine. I wish more nurses would question orders about unnecessary supplementation. He was not the least bit offended. It was no big deal at all.

They wouldn't learn that without someone being brave enough to show them like you have been.

The baby did great and went home on nothing but the breast. I think this mom will really stick to it. Not saying because of me, I think she would have BF regardless. I'm just more proud of myself for "standing up" to the doctor.

We're proud of you, too.

[phreedom]

Thanks y'all. I wasn't really trying to toot my own horn, but this is one of the few places I can share my joy about that sort of thing and people "get it". I really DO think its awesome when a new mama really wants to BF and succeeds. So many of them (that I try to assist) that are BFing want to give up at the first sign of a problem. So many times it's not the nurse pushing formula, but the mom is the one requesting it, despite what we tell her.

But she wanted to and her baby was the "perfect candidate" for it. Alert, rooting, big ole mouth, her milk was in by the 2nd day. It would have been an absolute shame NOT to put the baby to the breast ASAP.

[ar2974]

I wish you had been our nurse. That was awesome.

[AllieFaye]

It wasn't that long ago when virtually all NICU moms were told they "couldn't nurse" because the baby was in the NICU. Nurses like you have changes things for so many families. Keep up the good work!