Date: Fri 06-Oct-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

health-Weber-breastfeeding-

Full Text:

w/photo: Service For New Mothers Offers Information And Reassurance

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Motherhood brings with it new needs, concerns and questions.

But with hospital stays becoming as short as 24 to 48 hours, many new mothers

are sent home with their babies unprepared for the days ahead.

Dawn Reshen-Doty knows just how they feel. A businesswoman who runs a

management consulting firm with her father, she gave birth to her first child,

Justin, two months ago.

"My mother lives in New York and is a professional woman with a full time

job," she said. "I have no family nearby. My insurance company only would pay

for 24 hours so my husband paid for an extra day.

"But as soon as I came home, Justin had problems breast-feeding. Everything

was wrong and I got terribly panicky. I was exhausted and the more tense and

nervous I got, the more difficulties I had."

Fortunately, Mrs Reshen-Doty said, she had learned while still in the hospital

that a former high school acquaintance recently had started a service called

After the Stork to provide "one-to-one care when you need it most."

Charlene Moske Weber, a registered nurse who lives on Flat Swamp Road in

Newtown, had seen an increasing need on the part of new mothers as hospital

stays shortened and extended families shrunk.

"I think it's a great service," Mrs Reshen-Doty said. "Today there are so many

women who have no family nearby."

Mrs Weber, an experienced maternal/child health nurse who has three children,

ages 6 to 12, of her own, knows that having a baby is stressful.

"First of all, a new baby brings changes in a marriage," she said. "Mothers

can be exhausted and fathers can be nervous or overly concerned. Breastfeeding

is a big concern, whether its a first child or a fourth child - every one is

different."

"A whole array of skills go along with successful breastfeeding," Mrs Weber

said. "It's a learning experience for both mom and baby."

Nurse Weber said that new mothers also want to know how to bathe the baby

properly, how to know if the baby is sick, why it cries so much, whether it is

growing properly and, most of all, "when will I get some sleep?"

After the Stork provides such services as infant care instruction,

breastfeeding education and support, health assessments of mother and baby,

parent skills education, exercise instruction, proper bending and lifting

techniques to avoid lower back pain, and coping techniques.

"Some insurance companies used to pay for a first home care visit but most are

getting away from that now," Mrs Weber said. "With shortened hospital stays,

jaundice and dehydration are becoming problems. Jaundice often isn't

recognized by new parents because the infant develops it so gradually. And

breastfeeding difficulties can result in dehydration."

Mrs Weber said that if she detects a problem, she will refer the family to

their doctor. But most often the most beneficial part of After the Stork is

the reassurance it can give to a new mother.

"I needed reassurance that everything was okay," Dawn Reshen-Doty said."I was

literally hysterical and not getting enough sleep. It was reassuring to have

Charlene tell me that Justin looks good and is gaining weight, to have her say

`you're doing a great job.'"

Mrs Weber, who has worked both in the hospital setting and in providing home

care, said that even new mothers who have the help of their mothers for a week

or two after delivery often have problems when grandma leaves.

"One of the issues is that when grandma arrives, she often takes over the

baby," she said. "When she leaves, the safety net is gone. In this day and

age, many women have a very short time to get this right before they have

other pressures to deal with, such as returning to jobs."

Mrs Weber said her nursing service provides a two-hour initial consultation

for $80. "After that, it's once a week, sometimes more often, at $35 per

hour," she said. "A lot can be accomplished in an hour because I'm there to

teach."

After the Stork can be reached at 270-7643. Gift certificates are available.