I asked:



>   "But where, Carol, is the room in your vision for women to support
>each other, to demand the services and the support they need from the
>health services, from employers and others...for  a 'bottom up'
>approach, so the health services can learn from the women they are
>trying to reach?"


CB replied:

>
>i got soundly beat up once when i was still an active member of an
>"accredited volunteer breastfeeding support group," but i think i did have a
>little plug in my utopian vision for a support group and something about
>(LLL).


Yes you did - but it was the professionals referring the mother to
LLL, rather than voluntary groups creating the breastfeeeding support
that has normalised bf, and created the pressure on the health
services to ensure adequate support and information.

>  actually i think almost everyone should have their babies at home (but
>in the netherlands this does not prevent breastfeeding mismanagement, right?)
>and that everyone should use support groups like (LLL) but what i see is
>institutions that are "allergic" to support groups that they don't run
>themselves, even when it means reinventing the wheel. and mothers in the
>world who feel very free to criticize groups they know nothing about - even
>people who post on this list and refer to themselves as breastfeeding
>supporters have made it plain they don't know nothin' about volunteer groups
>and have nothing to do with them. someone i know who "does this work" will
>tell you frankly how dangerous she thinks they are and "every mom" who has
>even the slightest question needs to see . . . you guessed it, an LC.


Well, I cannot bear this attitude. It medicalises and
professionalises normal bf and in many cases does a huge amount of
harm (my observations, anyway). Volunteer groups are often criticised
in the UK by health professionals, but usually we're accused of
making women feel gulty, putting pressure on mothers. We are not
often criticised for poor knowledge or for passing on misinformation.

I agree that women lost bf when they lost birth.

But while I think that reclaiming birth (by 90 per cent home
delivery, for example)  is a lost cause, and the most we can hope for
is less institutionalisation of institutionalised birth,  I don't
think bf is a lost cause. Bf can happen, and happen happily and
effectively and to the great satisfaction of all, even after
institutionalised birth, and even after horrible birth experiences. I
have seen it heal these experiences. Bf is powerful enough to survive
intact - as long as the right support is there.

But I want to see mothers at the heart of this, demanding and
creating the support they need.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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