[music] - kathy: step nine is animportant one. when we first startedworking on our 10 steps, we looked at what theliterature was saying and it recommended no pacifiers. we simply removed them fromthe unit and everybody was on board. we came up with alternativeways of comforting babies. you too can get rid of thepacifiers in your hospital.
we set a date, we let ourphysicians know so they can tell families,we let our staff know. it's important to have thatstop date because if you say, "we're going to get rid ofthem," but you don't have an actual date, then theytend to always stay around for long periods of time. when babies need comfort,we just use a glove finger and allow the baby to suckleon our finger to calm down. we can also teach our families,our mothers and our dads,
how to calm babiesin this manner also. a need for a pacifieris just not there. - pacifiers can maskfeeding cues. at this point we are tryingto really establish a great milk supply for mom. babies don't alwaysfeed on schedule. sometimes a pacifier comesinto play to kind of subdue that feeding cue, which isnot really great in terms of breastfeeding success.
we routinely give them in thecase of a circumcision for comfort suckling and then wetoss them before babies are returned to their moms. the american academy ofpediatrics recommends waiting at least a month prior togiving any artificial nipples or pacifiers, that includesa bottle as well. we try to be on the offensiveinstead of the defensive. we tell moms in our tours andin our pre-natal classes that if you'd like to use one,you may, you will have to
bring your own but hereare the risk involved. - as health-care professionals,we can reduce the use of artificial nipples bytelling mothers the reason why we don't want to give abottle nipple or a pacifier when they're establishingbreastfeeding is because we want to build the milkfactory and the baby is the general contractor. - one of the things that i liketo talk about at the 36 week visit is the importance ofavoiding early introduction
of pacifiers and bottle nipples. especially in the early days,it's very important to get as much stimulation to the breastas possible to help the milk to come in as soon as possibleand to help get a good milk supply established. if there's some reason that thebaby can't feed at the breast early on, we prefer notto introduce artificial nipples. we would prefer to use analternative method to feed the baby such as spoon feedingor cup feeding.
- dr. hurst: whensupplementation is necessary, the way we protect breastfeedingis how we deliver it and what we deliver. we have the motherexpress colostrum. we can deliver that byspoon or finger feeding with a syringe or with a cup. we again discuss those optionsand then depending on what her decision is, we willproceed from there. - the cup feeding probably hasthe most evidence behind it,
has been studied themost extensively. the staff trainingis key in this. - ann: the more we educate theparents, it has to begin also with our staff to havecompetent and confident bed-side nurses who from thebeginning start talking about breastfeeding and who give outthe evidence-based knowledge that we know what we'retalking about and this is a good thing, providing theperfect food for your baby. that's our responsibility.
- i feel like i make a bigdifference every time i can help a mom breastfeed,even if it's one feed, one day, one week, six months.
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