I have to share this with all of you. We had a Breastfeeding Task Force
meeting at the hospital today - most of the people who attend are nurse
managers, peditricians, etc.. A nutritionist attended who has not been part
of the group before. She handed around a pretty little brochure her dept.
had written about What to Eat When You're Breastfeeding, which she thought
we might like to dispense postpartum. It had all this stuff about eat lots
of dairy and avoid cabbage and spicy foods ('such as Mexican food')(NB half
the patient pop. is Hispanic...).
I held my breath and hoped desperately that someone else  would say
something first. I needn't have worried. After a respectful silence, the
Head of Pediatrics, an MD, said, "Well, this is very nice, but I do believe
women in places like Somalia make pretty good breast milk."
After that it was mayhem. Isn't dairy a major allergen? Do we really have
research to show cabbage causes gas? Do our patients actually have access
to these foods, etc etc etc.
I was SO PLEASED!! Most of these people consider themselves 'moderate' but
as Rob was saying the other day, once you're in the field you're doomed!
They don't realize how far in they are! They would even be great on
Lactnet! I really think we might make it to Baby Friendly one day!
Anne Merewood
who is rarely so optimistic about her workplace.....