>Marti Lyn Ensrud wrote:
>      I have yet to find much information or studies discussing the
> fathers paternal rights to have his child breastfed.  What do you as the
> professionals feel is the father's rights?  Is catching the issue early
> and informing both parents on the benefits the best and only way to deal
> with this issue?  Also, have any of you come across this issue and how
> have you handled it?

I have seen this many times in my ten years of teaching and counseling.
I often tease with my colleagues that "if I could have induced lactation
in the father that baby would have been breastfed".  It has been my
experience that this is an issue that I cannot become too involved in.
I can educate, encourage, and support but beyond that it is a husband -
wife issue to be resolved within the marriage.  Marti is correct in
assuming that if the mother doesn't want to breastfeed then pumping or
anything else is not going to work for her for very long.  I have also
had a few clients in the other situation (mother wants to breastfeed but
father is in opposition ) who have had to abandon a successful,
enjoyable breastfeeding relationship in order to have peace in the home
or save their marriage which was otherwise good.

On the humorous side I do have to share a personal experience with 1500
of my close friends.  About four years ago a dear friend's, son's wife
just delivered their first child.  The woman had been married before and
had two children that she had never even thought of breastfeeding.  She
thought breastfeeding was dirty and would give you cancer.
Breastfeeding was very important to the son because he and all his
siblings were breastfed, his mother taught breastfeeding classes with me
and also counseled new moms.  He let his wife know how much he wanted
his children to be breastfed, so at delivery she gave it the token try
with my assistance being called upon professionally. Within a day or so
she let her husband know that "she had given it her best, but she just
couldn't do it".  I had known this young man since he was a child and he
knew that I was nursing a child of my own, so in a very loving serious
tone, he told his wife that "he understood and that he guessed he would
just have to get Cheryl (me!) to nurse the baby"!  His wife of course
said "I don't think so" and nursed not only that child for over three
years, but has since nursed a second child, is expecting her third,
encouraged he sister to nurse her two children, and counsels for a
breastfeeding support group in our community.

To bad this technique can't be used in the situations discussed above
and with such wonderful results!
Hope this brings a smile to your day.

Cheryl Leipold BS, IBCLC
Newnan, GA - USA