In response to Dr. Dworkin's article entitled "The hazards of
breastfeeding,"
the following 5 letters appeared on the Letters page today in the Ottawa
Citizen (not all are available online, so I have included them here).  All
are from parents, and are headed by a large closeup of a smiling mom
Kathleen Murphy (author of 'Mothers need practical tips' letter) and her 8
week old.

I phoned the citizen to question the lack of representation of
professionals - the reply was that Dr. Dworkin will be have another column
on breastfeeding tomorrow.

Waiting with bated (but cynical) breath...

Michelle Bentley
AAPL - Ottawa
LLLC - Q/EO
==========
Doctor a hazard

It seems to me that one of the "hazards" of breastfeeding would be having
Dr. Dworkin as your doctor.  My children are now 19 and 22.  I successfully
breastfed them until they were toddlers.  I knew many women who were
successfully breastfeeding their babies.  I learned that problems such as
cracked nipples are usually caused by poor positioning.  Often, problems are
caused by bad advice.

I was fascinated by the comment that fathers "feel useless ... to help with
breastfeeding problems."  My husband thought breastfeeding was marvelous.
It was inexpensive, convenient and always read y and available.

My babies were happy, healthy, and weighed about 30 pounds at their first
birthdays.  And their father got to bathe them and play with them

Dr. Dworkin has proved something that I have long believed:  If women want
to know about giving birth and looking after babies, they should consult
other women.  The doctor seems to be the last to know what you really should
do.
Anna Bilsky, Ottawa
===============
Dads can help

Dr. Barry Dworkin dismisses too readily the positive contributions a father
can make in helping with breastfeeding problems and reducing stress on the
mother.
]
By preparing meals, doing household chores and spending time with the other
children and assuming responsibility for their daily routines, the father
allows the mother to rest and concentrate on the care of her newborn.  The
father's genuine support of breastfeeding and praise of the mother's efforts
encourage the mother to continue her efforts and hopefully surpass initial
difficulties she may have with breastfeeding.
Ron Juteau, Carlsbad Springs
====================
Good advice
Thank you, Dr. Barry Dworkin, for telling it like it is.  I hope this column
reaches as many pregnant women and new mothers as possible.  Too many suffer
under the sometimes oppressive movement toward breastfeeding as the only
means to a healthy baby.  I wish I had his perspective on the subject in
mind when I had my first son in 1994: It would have saved us considerable
stress.
Jill Reeves, Nepean
===============
"Mothers need practical tips, not excuses"
Re: The hazards of breastfeeding, Jan. 8

I am breastfeeding my seven-week-old daughter, so I was appalled by Dr.
Barry Dworkin's column.
I will grant him that formula is sometimes necessary. I breastfed my older
daughter through 14 bouts of mastitis, which affected my milk supply and
made it necessary for me to supplement with formula towards the end.
Dr. Dworkin does not mention that this can be done very easily without a
bottle. You can use a clever "lactation aid" device, consisting of a small
plastic bag you hang around your neck and a thin tube you tape to your
breast down to your nipple. The baby suckles on your nipple but actually
gets milk from the bag. This allows the baby to continue to stimulate your
nipple while you keep up what remains of your own milk supply.
Dr. Dworkin seems far too casual in recommending formula, almost as if it is
a solution to every breastfeeding problem.
As someone who has been there when breastfeeding is not going well, what you
want are the tools to get the job done. You do not want a condescending pat
on the head and an instant recommendation to use formula.
If you have to supplement with formula and you know it is inferior, then it
only makes sense to have some sort of regret over not being able to
breastfeed completely. He should recognize this as valid, rational response
to the situation and not gloss over it with fluffy talk of "guilt feelings"
and "self-esteem."
Good positioning and latching techniques are the basic tools of successful
breastfeeding. He mentions lactation consultants in passing but then two
paragraphs later he relates a story about a woman who was spending two hours
per feed because the baby had difficulty suckling properly. He advised her
to limit breastfeeding and supplement with formula. Yet if the latch was the
problem, then why not fix the problem at the source?
One tends to doubt that Dr. Dworkin truly believes that breast milk is the
"gold standard" when he so downplays giving women the necessary nuts and
bolts of good breastfeeding technique.

Kathleen Murphy, Ottawa
===================
"To bottle or not to bottle, that is the maternal question"
At last, common sense advice on breastfeeding. I was delighted to read Dr.
Barry Dworkin's column. As a mother of two young children, I'm intimately
familiar with the enormous pressure on women to breastfeed exclusively.
Breastfeeding my first daughter was extremely difficult. But rather than
concern for my wellbeing or common sense advice such as Dr. Dworkin's on
supplementing with formula, I got nothing but pressure from health-care
professionals and lactation consultants to do everything I could to stay
away from formula.
I learned my lesson with my second child. She was about 99 per cent
breastfed, but very occasionally given formula so that I could get some
rest. Both of us were much happier.
As Dr. Dworkin says, we can all agree that breastfeeding is the "gold
standard," but can we leave behind the hysteria and guilt that one bottle
means a mother isn't doing enough for her child? I hope that all expectant
and new moms and dads (and medical professionals) read Dr. Dworkin's article
and take his advice to heart.
Heather Rourke, Ottawa

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