Hi all, Just wanted to share a story of a recent client...

Mom is 42-years old, affluent, first-time mom with truly inverted nipples.
She got off to a horrible start in the hospital - epidural, baby wouldn't
latch, blah blah. Then got engorged and rented a pump, but only pumped a few
days then stopped trying. I saw her on day 10 and she wanted to know if it
was too late to breastfeed. Baby by then had a decent suck, but supply was
pretty low. The pump could get some milk out. She wanted to try, so I gave
her a written care plan, then left for the ILCA conference and promised to
talk to her by phone while away.

She called a few days later to return the pump. Her husband, who had not
gotten into the "father" mindset at the time of my visit (she described him
as a 53-year old playboy on his 3rd marriage, no kids - this baby was a
complete surprise for both of them), was very displeased that she was so
"tied to the pump." However, earlier that day he voluntarily held the baby,
smiling and cooing, for over an hour.  So - mom's not breastfeeding, but
dad's getting into the family scene and she's happy. She's doing all the
mothering parts right - reading baby's cues, etc.  Could she have eventually
breastfed? Probably, with persistence and a huge effort on her part, and
plenty of social support. My conclusion - peer support is just as important
for affulent, "older" moms as it is for younger women or those with less
financial resources.

Linda Smith, LC in private practice in Dayton, OH