I tend to agree with Dawn's perspective for another reason...if the
mother is aware that there is potential for a problem, she is probably
more likely to manage breastfeeding more effectively. For example, I
can tell moms until I'm blue in the face that I don't recommend
introducing a pacifier for at least three weeks (if at all), and
without fail by their 24 hour postpartum the baby has a binkie in his
mouth. However, if I told a mother, "Because of your history of PCOS,
there's a chance you might have to work harder on milk supply..." or
some such thing, they are usually more motivated to establish
breastfeeding more proactively and would be less likely to let the
baby have a pacifier, let him sleep long stretches without waking,
etc. Some mothers may use it as an "excuse" to not bf, but those same
mothers probably would find any number of problems to derail them.

Also, it just seems inherently paternalistic to withhold information
about their cases from mothers. While I really agree with Nancy
Mohrbacher's cautions against giving moms too much info soon after
birth, I think that it is condescending to somehow assume they can't
handle the information. I don't think those two perspectives are
mutually exclusive. In my case, I'm usually able to inform them before
the birth, so I can avoid that pitfall of overwhelming them soon after
birth, but I realize this isn't the case for most LCs. I still think
you can alert them to potential causes for concerns without
overwhelming them with facts.

Just some added thoughts...

Gina Gerboth, IBCLC
Pueblo, CO
www.safepassagebirth.com

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