In my humble opinion, the pediatrician should be the expert on the mother's
breasts (mastitis, yeast, etc.) because the mother's breasts are critical to
the BABY'S health, and that is where the pediatrician's loyalties lie.

Kathy Dettwyler

P.S.  I think that it must be very difficult to "contradict the doctor" when
you work in a hospital where your job and/or your access to patients depends
on the doctor's good will, or where you work in a small community and the
doctors can blacklist you from getting any work as an LC if they don't like
your "attitude."  And this is a complicated issue because it includes both
MD/non-MD conflicts and turf-defending, as well as (often) male/female
conflicts, with the male the doctor and the female the breastfeeding expert.
There are of course exceptions, such as the run-ins I've had with a local
*female* pediatrician (not my children's doc) who does NOT appreciate being
upstaged in the knowledge arena by a *lowly* Ph.D. who has done research and
publishing on breastfeeding for almost 20 years.

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