Jennifer,
I'm glad you wrote to the list.  I think it's important for all who work with
new mothers to get the perspective of the people we serve.  Keep in mind that
this list is often a place to air our frustrations.  We are all different in
our approach and the bad experiences always get more air then the good.  I
hope you can somehow let the LC in your area know she has a poor approach.
 She needs to know.  This area of work is a delicate balancing act.
 Sometimes you fall off.  We live in a society where children can grow up
healthy and bright with ABM.  We know that breastmilk is the very best in
more ways than nutrition but I've sat and cried with too many women who just
could not get breastfeeding to work.  Sometimes it's an LC's most important
job, (to make this mom feel she HASN'T FAILED) she may be the only one that
understands how sad this mother feels that it just didn't work.  We then need
to shift gears, let the mother know that the work that she did do, the
breastmilk the baby did get, the effort she put out was worth it.  Her baby
got a very wonderful gift for however long. Mothering lasts a lifetime,
breastfeeding is a most wonderful time that every mother/baby deserves but
babies do wean at some time and mothering continues past this time.  Mothers
need to feel that they've done the best they could, with what they had at the
time.

Love to ALL moms.
Linda
Clarkston, Wa.