Jeanne, that is so sad. I have such great admiration for the Austin area and
how the environment was supporing Breastfeeding. The Milk Bank was a real
accomplishment.

Just to share and inquire a bit: I recently relocated to the Detroit area
from Chicago and have been saddened and appalled at how the environment for
lactation support has deteriorated here. Back in the mid-late 1990's I was aware
that this area was thriving and had many strong hospital based programs. Many of
those programs are a bare skeleton on what they were; PT LCs, 2-3 days a
week, limited hours, limited resources (no pump rental and no "needed products").
It's pretty sad and I get many calls for help from people who get my name off
the ILCA website or from our Local LC group.

Chicago was such wonderful place to  work as a LC. A positive environment
(most places!) to have a baby and breastfeed...lots of community and hospital
support. Some hospitals have 24/7 LCs and many have two shifts covered. I left a
little community hospital that had 7 day coverage between myself and another
wonderful dedicated, experienced LC so Detroit hasa been a BIG disappointment.
Luckily La Leche League is fairly strong and their presence is appreciated.

I'm curious as to what is happening in other areas of the country, especially
the Metro areas that had strong programs like LA, Denver, Boston, Atlanta,
Seattle and other not so large areas.  Is it all about money? Our arguments of
how to support LC salaries with pump rental and revenue fall on deaf ears most
of the time. The hospital I am working at recently cancelled all the
Childbirth Classes, and then decided to "revamp" them from a 5 week series to a 2 1/2
hour class. Argument was that "no body was doing natural childbirth anyway" but
classes were always popular and full. Isn't that shooting yourself in the
foot? Don't we always say that marketing and "good vibes" bring in customers?
Breastfeeding class attendance has been steadily declining and I can't figure out
why. The registration for all classes is/was taken by a central 800#  so I
guess I'll have to call and pretend to be pregnant to hear what they tell
people.

So I guess I'm done whining and look forward to hearing from others.
Mary Kay Smith, RN, IBCLC
Canton MI

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