Hi,
I just wanted to comment when you said you felt bad encouraging this woman to
breastfeed despite all her problems because you seemed to feel you were adding
the burden to her.

I suffered from mild PPD (not that it seemed mild at the time) with my first,
and I definitely felt that being able to breastfeed was at times one of the
only positive things I could see about my parenting ability.

I have a very good friend who suffers manic-depression, and she has been very
ill with her three, but the last one she breastfed and she said when all else
was crumbling, she felt proud that she could do that and it helped her. However,
I think perhaps it only helps with hindsight.

My thoughts were that perhaps this mother wanted to moan about breastfeeding to
*you* because anyone else would probably impatiently just say "Well, just give
it up and bottle-feed". I think it's interesting that she tells her LC that
she feels like giving up. Perhaps she just needed to space to let it all
out and let you know just how utterly c%@p her life is just right now. I have
done it myself to our local LLL - and not phoned her back to tell her I felt so
much better the next day! :-( She probably walks out of your office feeling like
a ten-ton weight has been lifted from her shoulders, leaving you in a crumpled
heap! :-( Sounds like you are a breastfeeding *counsellor* here, with a heavy
emphasis on the "counsellor". Keep up the good work! :-)
--
Anna (mummy to Emma, born 17th Jan 1995 and Alice, born 11th Sept 1996)
Web Page: http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna