LO is 8 mos.+, but friend says I should still write letter to Hospital

[MarcyC]

Well, the title sums it up. I was talking to a good friend of mine the other day. She's an LC in training and has worked with me from the beginning. She actually took me to the hospital the day DS was born.

Well, we were talking about our rough start to breastfeeding and ultimately finding out he was tongue tied, etc.

We got to talking about my hospital stay. I had pre-eclampsia which went into full blown toxemia so I was on mag. sulfate for the birth.

After he was born (5 weeks early) he was having trouble breathing and had blood sugar problems so they took him to the nursery. After that, they wouldn't bring him to me BF because they said I couldn't BF on mag. sulfate. I was pretty out of it (he was born late at night) so I just tried to get some sleep.

The next morning DH left to check on our other kids, our pets, our house, etc... Well, then the nurses wouldn't bring him to me because they couldn't leave him alone with me. They said their policy was they wouldn't leave babies alone with mothers when mom was on mag. sulfate. They also wouldn't let me out of bed, not even a wheelchair, to go see him. They did bring a decent breastpump, but told me I had to pump and dump. My mom finally arrived mid-morning and they brought him to me, but wouldn't let me nurse.

Even the ped., who is pretty pro-bf'ing wouldn't let me nurse. But here's where it gets wierd. As soon as they unhooked the mag sulfate, they let me nurse him. What gives? Wouldn't it still be in my system? They wouldn't let me nurse on it, but as soon as it's unhooked (within seconds) I had my baby and he was latched on.

Here's the other thing - the entire 24 hours after birth (the time I was on mag sulfate), they bottle fed him even though I provided them with a cup feeder and a finger feeder. They still bottle fed. They said that was easier for him. How exactly is a finger feeder any more difficult than a bottle!?

And he was born on a Friday so by the time I got him (Saturday evening), there were no LC's. Just my post-partum nurse who knew nothing about finger feeders, SNS's, etc. Actually, on Sunday before we were going to be released his billirubin went up so I got out the SNS to feed him and get some extra fluids in (they weren't going to release us with his billirubin that high) and she was totally intrigued by the SNS. She'd never seen or heard of it before.

We were released from the hospital, given a boatload of formula, and after never having seen an LC.

In hindsight, and checking Hale's...Mag. Sulfate is okay for BF'ing. And about not leaving the baby with mom (because it makes you drowsy and you might drop the baby or something). They think nothing of sending you home with a child who will want to nurse 24/7.

The whole time I was there I had one nurse who rolled her eyes at they whole situation and brought him to me. I had him for all of 10 minutes and I did latch him on, but then she came in and took him because she didn't want to get in trouble. I liked her.

Anyway, my friend who was here said it might be worth writing a letter to the hospital letting them know how they really hurt my breastfeeding relationship and that I should educate them about mag. sulfate and bf'ing.

I don't know. I've already gotten info to the peds. and ent's on tongue tie. I wonder if I should write a letter this late in the game?

[aprilv]

i'm sorry you guys had to go through all that and i'm glad it worked out ok in the end.
as for the letter, it's not that late and i think you should write it too! maybe if these hospitals hear from enough people things will change. maybe they just need a push to reevaluate their policies.

[forthebest]

If you think it will help you could. I think you should. The hospital seems to know little about what they are doing cos baby should have been with mom imo. I think it's cruel that they will take babies away from moms, what gives? Yes, you could inform them of their mistake regards the stuff you were on for the 24 hrs. And yes, ridiculous that it was give baby back to mom the second the tube or whatever was removed, blah, as if! They just seem to follow this cruel, twisted little routine and the sooner it stops the better, babies really need their moms and vice versa. If more women complain about the routine protocol( which damages quite a lot actually)or challenge the dogma they might learn something. It's wierd how some hospital staff seem so very keen to interfere with birth process and BFing relationship. You have a voice and I wished I had written to the hospital, I'll tell you but they never got sent, I was too angry.

[Andee]

I'm sorry for the way they treated you. I agree completely with writing a letter even though it's been a few months. I think that your displeasure with the situation should be voiced so that, perhaps, they'll rethink their policies. I know it does little to help you now, but maybe it will help other women.

[hipmummy]

Please write the letter for two reasons:
1. To educate and make the staff aware of their error
2. To make yourself feel better "let it Out"

[ctdoula]

The mag sulfate policy at the hospital I work at is: AFTER 24hrs baby must have blood drawn to check levels. The vast majority of moms are off MagSulfate by 24hrs post partum. They should not have kept the baby from nursing due to that. I'm sorry!

[FREEmom1120]

Yes, write the letter. I still have a letter to write about my hospital's lactation nurses. I don't expect to feel vindicated in any way, but maybe it will help other moms from experiencing the same thing.

[Draupadi]

I agree with pps. Write the letter. It could help someone elses' nursing relationship in the future.

[paquerette]

They gave you the mag sulf before his birth, right? How could they justify giving it to him as a fetus but not the miniscule amts in bm? :

I do think you should write the letter.

[MaryJaneLouise]

Yes, please do write a letter .

[jenjenl18]

I say definitely write the letter so that they have the opportunity to review their policies and correct them. My older sister is an LC at UNC, what hospital did you deliver at? If its UNC Chapel Hill I will let her know about it.

[mommyddeville]

I'd say to write the letter if it'll be healing for you. I had horrible hospital birth experiences, and haven't written letters. For me, it would be more trauma to bring the whole thing up again. But for some women, it's very healing to get it all out and let people know about it.

[meganmarie]

My sis is a mat ward nurse at a hospital. The administrators there are very pro-bf'ing but the messages and education don't always seem to get through to every nurse - some are old-school or have out of date info, some just let their own biases and preferences get in the way of what they know is right. The admin at her hospital would be very interested to know about any mis-information or poor bf support happening on the floor. If they aren't aware of it, how can they fix it?

Its never too late to do something that might help other moms coming along after you.

[GooeyRN]

Please write your letter. They will read it. They do want to know if moms aren't happy. They don't want to be known as the hospital that is not baby or breastfeeding friendly. They will want to fix the problem as to not loose other moms. Your letter will help the staff to be better educated. It may also give you a little healing. Send one letter to the hospital administrator, and one to the DON, and one to the Nurse Manager of the OB unit. I am happy that your son was willing to nurse after not getting to latch on for so long, but there is no excuse for the nurses to not know about finger feeding, SNS's, etc. It sucks that I personally know a nurse who does whatever she can to sabotage bfing so that she does not have to take any time to help the moms. The LC should have been there also, especially with your history of low supply and being that his bili level was quite high. Most larger hospitals have nurses that work the unit that are also LC's on all shifts. That also does not make sense about the mag sulfate. I have no idea why its suddenly ok to let you bf seconds after disconnecting it, but not 10 minutes prior. I am sorry that your experience sucked so bad. Write that letter. I hope you can heal from the poor experience soon.

[catemom]

Yes! Write your letter! Maybe even send a letter to your state attorney general and legislators.

I'm beginning to think that I'd like to help get some laws passed in my state regarding the formula pushing LCs in the hospitals in my state. I've met too many other people who have been harassed and coerced by maternity ward LCs to supplement and haven't been given the help and encouragement that a private LC would have given them.