I think that LCs and midwives are indeed natural allies in promoting and protecting breastfeeding, but I agree with Esther and Nikki--I would venture to say that most of the midwifery practiced in the US, outside of the home, is "med-wifery". This, in my mind, is part of the problem--women think they are getting something better (the "best of both worlds" lie) when they are getting the same old thing, plus the added deception. In my community, midwives have been more constrained, abused and attacked over the years and very few practice in the midwifery model of care. Just as I think we as LC's are absolutely responsible to parents and babies to speak the truth, so I think midwives are responsible for how they practice. If we are to work together to make a difference, we have to uphold who we are, not who the medical model has told us they expect us to be--otherwise, we simply collude with the abusive, brutal system that currently exists.
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA