I am really saddened by Margery`s story.  I think that many of us have been marginalized over the years, not just in breastfeeding counselling.
I was one of the first prenatal teachers in Israel to teach couples, trained by NCT in the UK before I left England.  I made such a nuisance of myself at one of the Haifa hospitals all those years ago  that when they decided to finally allow dads in the labour ward, a very supportive ob. mentioned that I was teaching couples and I was given the job of co-ordinating the childbirth education programme there.  I was over the moon because it opened the doors to so many other opportunities and made childbirth education accessible to a wider public.
Over the years the programme succeeded but as couples courses became more popular the midwives decided that they should teach them even though most of them had no training in teaching or counselling.  The job was taken away from me without any warning while I was overseas at a conference and since then every hospital is running the old-style frontal lectures to unlimited numbers in the groups.  Then this was adopted by the various health insurance companies and of course all these courses are cheaper than those with small groups and the sort of follow-up that I do (incl. bf counselling)  I was trying to reach out to every part of the community and one successful programme was in the ultra-orthodox neighbourhood where the men do not attend courses.  We used their own school-rooms so I was able to cut costs and give a quality course at a much lower fee.  Then the clinic nurse in that area decided to run courses which might have been a good thing except that unless she had a full group she cancelled even at the last minute - but refused to give the stranded women my phone number.

Well, as Lactnetters will have gathered from my previous postings, I am busy enough with my private work and my courses at the Technion University and all the breastfeeding counselling - but like Margery I had such satisfaction in  reaching a wider public.  We have such an important message to give.

And in the private sector, there are still unqualified practitioners who set themselves up as childbirth educators on the basis of having done a couple of workshops or read the books.

My daughter is much more philosophical than me.  She says that after all the years we battled to establish the Israel Childbirth Education Centre we should be pleased that there are so many choices and options and that means our work was successful.
But the problem is that many of the choices and options do not provide the quality of care that women deserve and it is hard for a first-time pregnant woman to distinguish between all of them.

So please Margery, and others in the same boat, it is important to remember who you are and that you are more qualified than the people who are trying to marginalize you - and keep going!
All the best,
Wendy Blumfield
NCT ANT Tutor/BFC
Israel Childbirth Education Centre
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