I'm used to hearing stories of women who have wanted to breastfeed their
adopted child but have being discouraged because of the health care
professionals they encounter. However, usually the women concerned are in
the US and not people I know personally. However, yesterday I heard from an
aquaintance, her personal experience of trying to find information. First of
all she contacted ABA and after 3 messages left on answering machines and no
call backs she decided that wasn't going to work (I know how this could
happen with busy volunteer counsellors but...very unfortunate). I think the
interpretation of this mother is that the counsellors did not want to talk
to her. She then went to one of the Children's Hospitals in her city and saw
an LC there (can only assume that she would be an IBCLC- it's a large
hospital with a good reputation for being supportive of breastfeeding) who
made her feel like she was a "fruitcake" and gave no help at all. Then in
isolation (single mum and all and any single person taking on the adoption
bureaucrats in Australia deserves a medal in my opinion), she went and hired
a breast pump and got to work with it but after her experiences she lacked
confidence (after all if the experts didn't think it could be done who was
she!) and gave up. I'm boiling mad that she could ask the "right" people and
not get the help she deserved. I wish that she had known that she could have
asked me and I would have helped her.
Karleen Gribble
Australia

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