I wanted to express my gratitude, and a patient's sincere appreciation, for her nurse, Beth Larrabee. A breastfeeding mother was admitted to R3 through the ED yesterday, scheduled for surgery today, and Beth immediately put into action a strong and supportive plan for this mother to continue uninterrupted breastfeeding.

Beth's thoughtful plan included getting the mother a private room, a pump and other supplies for breastfeeding, as well as ensuring that our lactation team was aware of the consult that was ordered. Beth left us a message on our office line last night, which meant we were able to see this mom first thing this morning before her surgery, which this patient said was a great comfort to her.

In my meeting with this patient this morning she also stated that she has not always been met with breastfeeding-informed medical care, at Maine Medical Center and elsewhere. As such, she was very grateful for her nurses on R3, all of whom she said, "seemed to have personal experience with and understood how important it is to me to keep breastfeeding."

This particular breastfeeding mom is very well-informed, and felt comfortable advocating for herself; however, she did say, "It probably says in my chart, 'pushy breastfeeding mother'." As a nurse and Lactation Consultant, it is my hope that women in our care never have to feel self-conscious about their choice to breastfeed (or not breastfeed, for that matter), and feel supported and informed about their health-care choices while in our care.

Thank you to Beth and your amazing team on R3 for their care for this mom.