Dear Friends:
     Laurie and Pamela have articulated very well much of what I see in the
world around me.
     My personal take on the topic of weaning and society is that as long as
profit is more important in the USA than health, it will be okay to let
breastfeeding go, because no one in authority takes the health and quality of
life aspects of breastfeeding seriously enough.
     Now there are second, or maybe third, generation impacts of this
attitude.  Such as the billions of dollars spent to treat illness; this is
income for an ailing health services delivery system. This system has to keep
generating income, else facilities will close. Now illness has become an
element propping up the system. Very scary thought.
     There is no profit in prevention. Another scary thought.
     Some hospitals in this area have closed their maternity units. Too
expensive to run. And one newspaper article called provision of maternity
services "non-productive."
     I recently filled out a survey form for a human birthing initiative.
When I was asked what I felt would make change, I replied that there would
have to be so many dead or damaged babies and mothers (did you see the
article written by Marsden Wagner talking about increases in maternal
morbidity) that people would take back the responsibility that is theirs and
stop looking to the 'experts' to take care of them during the fundamental
life processes.
     Fascinating and terrible for me to read about a country where the supply
of breastmilk substitutes is drying up.
     What are we humans doing to ourselves?
     warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CIMI, CCE, craniosacral therapy
Adjunct faculty, Union Institute and University, Maternal and Child Health:
Lactation Consulting
Supporting the WHO Code and the Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative

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