alicia, your description of a mother looking at you as if you have developed
a "third eye" is truly funny, although i think most of us have had that
happen and it isn't really funny at all, in a sense. but this is a terrific
start, that you always bring this up. this is the way in which breastfeeding
is portrayed as normal and that failure to breastfeed is something so wrong
that steps should be taken to remedy that problem, even when they sound new
and unusual to the mother you talk to.

>  Some of these children may
> eventually develop some long-term complication of not having breastfed, or
> may not.

here is where i differ with your interpretation, because i think there is not
any way in which a baby can escape the long-term effects of being deprived of
breastfeeding, even if he escapes the short term effects. unless we honestly
tell mothers that they are impairing their child's future intellectual
capabilities and their future health, we haven't truly taught them what they
need to know. even a mother who does not plan to have other children needs to
know that breastfeeding is the correct health choice, as her life and belief
system will still impact others - particularly her own children.

*in a way that might make a significant difference in the
outcome of a particular child*, unless you relactate early on and
re-establish a full or nearly full supply

i also disagree with this. yes, it is certainly easier to relactate if you
try early in the postpartum period, but a child with a health crisis could
certainly benefit from a mom who induced lactation in later months. and, as
the milk banks would tell you, many times a baby who is desperately ill
regains his health on an exclusive diet of donor milk, and is then weaned
down from a complete diet to a partial diet. many times they find these
babies can tolerate a diet of ABM as long as they have 4 oz. of donor milk
per day. this is not much to make such a large difference, and the "all or
nothing" attitude about breastfeeding (and i despair, because most mothers
seem to feel this way) should not be an impediment. although it is rare for a
mother to want to do so, the occasional instances in which a mom asks "should
i relactate to provide milk for my ill baby?" - she is usually treated as if
she is insane. (back to the usual lack of awareness of donor milk
availability etc.).

breastfeeding deprivation is a world health crisis. regardless of my
profession, i am presonally impacted by babies who are not breastfed, and so
is every one else, no matter how their children were fed. we've had good
discussions before about putting dollar amounts on this, and the emotional
devastation of reduced breastfeeding in the world is incalculable. keep on
working with your moms and babies, and don't be afraid to be honest with
them. i would have to think that there is no mother in this country that has
not heard one single thing about breastfeeding, so there should be some
possibility for a conversation. and the weight of your words is so important!

carol brussel IBCLC

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html