Esther Grunis posted:
>Last week, I was called in to deal with a "difficult couple." This couple
>had a beautiful natural delivery, and after the birth refused to allow the
>staff to take the baby. As the staff became more aggressive, threatening
>that if the baby did not go to the nursery, she might have brain damage
>(???? talk about scare tactics) , the father became more adamant.
>
What a startlingly real illustration of one of the downsides of
negative messages. Feeling threatened is not a good way to enter upon a
new relationship with your baby! And I guess I have to admit that it is
this kind of thing (which I experienced when I chose to home birth,
co-sleep, breastfeed for > three years, and not immunize) that makes me
very leary of "scare tactics" which are, at their core, an attempt to
coerce a person over to someone else's point of view. I decided then,
that I would not engage in these behaviors myself... no matter how much
I *thought* I knew what was best for the other person. Ever.
In my studies at the master's level (Family Studies and Family Life
Education) I explored the ethics of paternalism... the idea that "I know
what's best for you and your family, now just do as I say" and, again, I
decided that it would not be part of my own strategy to insist that my
clients see it my way or agree with me.
I did my thesis on doulas and how they are able to "educate" because
they can be of the same race, class, and social strata as the client
is.....and not some hyper-educated whitecoat that thinks they know
what's best for the whole population. Women's learning theory, BTW,
would suggest that insistance by whitecoats will influence only those
who care what whitecoats think... the college educated "whitecoats"
themselves. (I am allowed to talk about whitecoats this way because I am
one, and I know it. ;-) )
I don't want to see us breastfeeding advocates go down that slippery
slope of paternalistic pontification that is present in many other areas
of public health. We don't know what's best for every family. We just
don't. We can't.
I look forward to the ad campaign, and I don't want anyone who worked so
hard on it to think they don't have my support. I am behind Amy and
Larry and all those who chose this path.... even if it *may not* be the
path I'd have gone down. Notice I say *may not*... I haven't seen the
ads yet.
Oh yes, and Esther.... I started the lactation program at Mercy Hospital
in Fairfield, Ohio. We just went Baby Friendly, and we do allow babes to
stay skin to skin with mom as long as mom likes! Our birth rate is about
half yours, and we opened the unit ~ 6 years ago with this intent. We
don't even have a normal newborn nursery. All nursery care is done at
the bedside (except when there's a level 2 baby.) When a baby hasn't
fed by 6 hours of age we teach mom to express some colostrum into babe's
mouth... and we watch for signs of hypoglycemia. I know that our first
neonatologist... Dr. James Greenburg, has spoken with alot of peds.
about how this works. "It simply is not a problem" I have heard him tell
them.
Susan Keith-Hergert RNC, MS, IBCLC
Susan Keith-Hergert
mom, nurse, doula and lactation consultant
Holistic Natal Care * Cincinnati
MMMM.... Making Mothering More Magical! ;-)
http://www.uniquebabyboutique.com/?HolisticNatalCare
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