Lynn Shea said: "Of course it is hard. Obviously I 'hear' what your saying but I'm sure that is what Bobbie Phillips and Anne Merewood felt when they initiated the changes in the breastfeeding climate at Boston Medical Center . However, These changes are the only thing that can explain their huge increase in breastfeeding with the same population that you describe. Breastfeeding became the *norm* at that hospital. I know that pedi HCPs are worried about alienating patients but until *you do what they do* (at BMC) and create a climate that shouts "we promote breastfeeding here!" and not "we try to walk the fence " (and yes that ould include posters etc!~) can you truly know how much of a factor you are" I think you misunderstand my point. I'm not walking any fence in my practice. It's just that it's not enough to say to a mom "You should breastfeed" and then feel guilty when they don't. Simple medical information is often not enough. Providing cultural change is what we need. Another example would be the Mother's Milk Club at Rush in Chicago, where there was comprehensive support. When I conducted the survey, it wasn't so I could then say "Look, it isn't my fault or my responsibility" but so I could know what type of support might be needed. We went on to start a breastfeeding mom's support group, and had several of our clinic patients train as breastfeeding peer counselors. Unfortunately, I think this languished after Mary Kay and I left, but I have taken with me the understanding that it's often not enough for me to be the sole voice in a woman's life supporting breastfeeding. I certainly do not dilute the truth when I counsel women or even when they have have weaned or never started breastfeeding, but I know that I'm only a small part of a woman's life. Jennifer Tieman Family Physician Mom to 4, including my toddler nursling Caroline Rose *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html