I sadly hear too often "I did not like my hospital lactation nurse or staff person". Why is this ladies? What have your experiences been and what would you have liked to have seen done differently?
Were they too rough, did they not come soon enough, often enough? Did you feel like they left out some important information that would have made all the difference once you got home?
Share with me your thoughts, experiences both good and not so good.
With my first baby, I had a lot of trouble. I was told that the hospital's policy was to send an LC before you were discharged. I waited and waited, not knowing how to throw my weight around yet, and was discharged without seeing the LC. After weeks of supplementing, I went to another hospital's LC and she was amazing. She fixed us on the first visit and I never had another issue.
ReplyDeleteWith my second, I asked for the LC before she was even born. I didn't see her until the second day but luckily, I really didn't need her either.
Third baby, I never asked for the LC but was never offered either. I was surprised when she showed up a few hours after I had him. She was 'making her rounds' and sat in on a feeding and said I was a champ but left her information and a goodie bag.
In my opinion, the problem isn't the LC's themselves. It's the hospital staff who just doesn't get the urgency to get the message to the LC's that someone's struggling. Each hospital had SEVERAL LC's so it's not as if they where overwhelmed with new mothers. Waiting a couple of days can often be a deal-breaker when it comes to nursing. I think nurses need to understand that when I say I want an LC, I need one NOW. Our LC that I call with any issues for the past 9 years has always agreed that it isn't that they're so busy, it's that the message is never passed on to them.
Thanks for sharing that! I think it should be an automatic, not do you want one... it should just be an automatic visit. If you are doing great than fantastic, but at least you have met someone that could help if something should come up. Everyone else stops by without request, the hearing people, the Ped. the OB, the picture people for crying out loud. The LC should make a visit even when no request has been made.
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