"I couldn't agree with you more, it drives me nuts too, but the
administration is extremely concerned about making everyone happy.  I had to
remove a display window I had up last year because someone complained whose
wife had lost a breast to breast cancer and couldn't breatfeed. So we have
to be sensitive and can't risk offending any patients.    Peg"

It's been said before, but "we" can't make everyone happy.  And what about
the women who can't breastfeed being given the right to grieve?
Theoretically, if she were a patient and I came into her room with a button
that said, "Breast is best,"  I might point to it and use it as an opener for
dealing with her grief, "This must be painful for you to see..." and then sit
down and encourage her to talk.

It's like the women with unplanned sections that I see in their homes..I
always bring it up and let them know they need to grieve, be angry, etc. for
they've lost something (natural birth) that was their right as a woman
(whether or not C-sec was necessary).  So often women are denied the right to
be sad and angry and told instead, "well you have a healthy baby and that's
what counts."  While that may certainly be true, the loss of control, be it
breast cancer or section or whatever needs to be dealt with in an open and
caring way.  Perhaps administrators could look at this as an opportunity for
total care of the patient.

Barbara Latterner, BSN, RN, IBCLC

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