----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 4:04 AM
Subject: Re: [LACTNET] human milk sharing
>
> Kristen,
> Fantastic post! We as women have given away control of our bodies to the
> point where women can be threatened and forced into allowing themselves
> and their babies to be drugged in labor,
**In a Dutch newspaper about two weeks ago: "The pain of delivery is like
having a limp amputated", implying that those who are in favour of an
unmedicated birth are horrendously cruel... :-(
Well, quite a nice way to empower women, right?!?! Gosh, I get more and more
angry, when I hear people talking so much rubbish...
I spent three hours in the hospital last night, because my volunteer
breastfeeding collegue ended up in hospital with her ten day old son, who
became febrile end of yesterday and refused to drink at breast.
Stupid guy from the blood lab came in, started doing his job (not willing to
do it on the little one lying close to my friends body, but wanting him on
the table... leaving even me in doubt whether to protest or not...!!) and
then, when the baby and mom were both crying, said: "Well, it always seems
worse than it is, babies don't remember this, they forget straight away!" I
said: "That is a very wrong remark." He looked at me and said: "No, really,
they forget!" I couldn't help it and said: "Oh, are you a neurologist, that
you are so well informed about all of this?" That shut him up. When he left,
I said: "Never say to a ten day pp woman with a sick child that it isn't all
that bad...!" "Well, but babies really..." I: "No, just don't say it again.
Simply don't ever make a remark like that again." Could have slapped him.
Once at the pediatric ward, we had to label the milk she pumped... hospital
uses ABM-stickers to label the breastmilk! Made another remark and the nurse
said: "Yeah, well... euh... tsja... well, that's just how it is here." I
suggested they could use plain white stickers to label the bottles. Managed
to annoy another hospital worker...
I'll probably get a phonecall today from the Dutch Medela director, that I'm
in discussion with and who was pretty pissed about some critical editing I
did. In his letter, he was in the mood of forbidding me to contact head
quarters in Switzerland, wondered what I had to do with their marketing and
said that fortunately not everyone makes a fuss out of every little detail
the way I do... Yeah, right: fortunately for them, or else they would be out
of business. In the meantime, I have adressed the issue at a higher
IBCLC-level, the problem being that the Medela-rep is an IBLCE-member... :-s
Empowering women on the issue of breastfeeding starts, in my opinion, with
us IBCLC's having the guts to stand up for breastfeeding and making an issue
out of bad wording, bad practices and wrong information, as we are the ones
who, when we are proudly using our credentials, are supposed to know better.
If we do not object, we violate the Code of Ethics and the Scope of
Practice.
How to do that and still be perceived a friendly person...? Quite difficult
at times, as most people feel threatened, as soon as you say something. No
matter how hard I try to be friendly and reasonable, my experience is that
people somehow know that you are criticizing certain practices (which I am!)
and they object to that. "It has always been like this. Why should we change
it? Because it doens't appeal to you? ABM is not as bad as you make it out
to be. Not bf is not as (physically/psychologically) harming to women and
babies and families as you say. Don't make such a fuss. Shut up, that's
easier for all of us." I reckon many of you recognize this mechanism. While
ongoingly working on my communication skills, I *will* keep objecting,
though. I truly believe it's the only way to create consciousness and to
induce changes. We have a saying that goes: "You are the louse in the fur",
meaning that the host cannot feel comfortable with his way of doing, as long
as you are there. I'll be there.
Warmly,
Marianne Vanderveen IBCLC, Netherlands
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