American Medical Student Association: 

Regarding your breastfeeding powerpoint presentation, by Bach-Mai “Katherine” Vu and Katie Hecksel
AMSA Women in Medicine, August Monthly Focus (www.amsa.org/women/Breastfeeding.ppt). 

I would like to call your attention to the slide which states, 

 
"    Women who are unable or choose not to breastfeed can still be wonderful mothers.  Breastfeeding advocates must be careful not to alienate or judge such women.
 
"    That said, breastfeeding is a broadly beneficial practice. It should be encouraged whenever possible and safe, and made a more practical and desirable practice for women everywhere.
 
"    Advocacy must be supplemented with empowerment.  Understanding and addressing challenges for breastfeeding women at home, work, and in society can increase the numbers of women comfortably breastfeeding."   
 
I appreciate the slide overall but the first sentence is disturbing. After all, it actually suggests the opposite from what it purports to say. For example, what if we said, “Mothers of disabled children can still be wonderful mothers.”
 
In addition, it suggests that breastfeeding advocates alienate these mothers, and I have not known this to be the case, given that humans as a whole are imperfect and everyone of every opinion has their rough spots—we should not particularly select breastfeeding advocates. Again, it says the opposite of what it purports to say.
 
I would replace the entire first point with something like: “Almost all women choose to breastfeed, but many health care professionals lack the education, experience, and time to support them through the learning process. For this and other reasons, most women in the U.S. wean prematurely, according to the US Surgeon General and Healthy People 2010, and many women will grieve or feel regret over their loss. Nevertheless, this should not be a barrier to enjoying their babies.”
 
Yours, 
Arly Helm, MS, IBCLC

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome