Dear Jennie,
Try not to be disappointed with your doctor. We can only know what we know,
and what we don't know, we can learn.  All we have to do is be willing to be
open to new info.  You have given him some new ideas to think about.  These
ideas will all the more powerful since you already have a track record with
him and he's had a chance to get to know you as a reasonable, normal person.
Over the years I have always tried to include some mention of my lactation
history in conversations with diff. care providers with whom I had estab.
rapport.   Women who practice sustained breastfeeding are so often 'closet'
breastfeeders that no one is aware, hence familiar with the practice.  This
communicates the message that the activity is practiced only at the
'fringes' by odd people (some of my favorite people, actually, but not
always the most effective ambassadors:)

One of my favorite ways to sneak bfg into conversations is to wait until
someone asks me how my children got so nice, smart, etc.  I always smile
sweetly and say:  "They nursed until kindergarten and slept with my husband
and me. "  If the kids have a problem, I always say:  "Thank God she was
breastfed for so long and slept with us.  Otherwise this might be so much
worse."

Your doctor mentioned he was open to reading refs about bfg.  What an
opportunity for you to educate!  Remember to only provide info that comes
from his peers (typically MDs only consider other MDs their peers.)  There
will still be plenty of material to chose from.  Try to find recent refs and
refs that arise from studies done in populations similar to the one he
practices in.  It is easy to discount studies from the 3rd World, for
instance, as not being relevant to an industrialized nation.

The Lactnet archives are full of such refs. and many are from journals you
could access on-line and download (at least the abstracts).

Barbara Wilson-Clay BSEd, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates
http://www.lactnews.com

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