>    I now tell parents something like this---"In the past as educators, we
>spoke of the advantages of bf, b/c we did not have enough research to speak
>accurately of the risks of artificial feeding. We saw breastfeeding as a
>choice which offered some benefits over A/F. We now know that A/F presents so
>many risks to babies and their mothers that the AAP has written new
>guidelines, hospitals throughout the world have undertaken an initiative to
>become "Baby-Friendly", and educators have come to believe it is the right of
>parents to be informed of these risks. It may be difficult to hear this new
>information, especially as so many of us were A/F and perhaps even most of
>our friends' babies have been A/F, but you cannot possibly make the best
>choice for your own families w/o awareness of these facts."
>    I also tell women straight out that they are not likely to succeed at bf
>if their goal is simply to try to breastfeed. If the goal is to try, they
>will likely accomplish that goal--they will try. I tell them the goal must be
>to breastfeed--that for most women, bf is successful when it becomes an
>integral part of their identity as a mother.
>    I also strongly promote labor support to mothers having hospital births.
>I explain that when you want to teach a child not to color on the table, you
>cannot tell them "don't color on the table". You need to tell them what they
>can do instead, such as "Color on this paper". It is the same with birth--you
>can want to avoid drugs, but if you have no one to offer you anything else,
>you will likely use drugs, just as the child who is not offered paper will
>likely continue to use his crayons on the table.
>    This may not at all be the best approach, but for me in my life, it is
>the one I can live with.
>Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA

Jennifer,
I LOVE this.  If I can quote you,  your words will show up in my bfing
classes.  Thanks for your suggestions.  Your right on!


Warmly, Ilene Fabisch, Brockton, MA
"Each day is a blank canvas waiting for our unique brushstrokes to create
a masterpiece."

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