I have been very interested in this thread... Nikki, don't give up hope! I
work as a doula, and have seen drops of water in the turning tides.

Three weeks ago, I attended a hospital birth with a friend. She gave birth
drug free, despite the nurses' insistence for medications. One nurse told
her she preferred a drugged mother, because they just lay there and don't
realize anything is happening. Same nurse told the mother, "Why bother with
breastfeeding, formula is just as good." to which the mother unloaded on the
nurse, so I didn't have to. The doctor told the mother she'd never be able
to have a natural birth, her childbirth educator told her there was no
reason she couldn't. Immediately upon birth, mother grabbed and nursed the
baby to the doctor's admitted shock. He repeated that he thought she'd never
be able to do it. Sad.

2 weeks ago, I attended a homebirth with a friend and her midwife. She
started bleeding heavily, and put her baby to the breast, where she's stayed
since. Bleeding stopped, mother and baby are fine, and she's going to nurse
this one as long as her previous baby - at least 2 years.

Monday, I attended another homebirth, but this time the midwife didn't make
it. I had the honor of catching her baby, whom we threaded back through the
mother's legs, and latched on to the breast. No bleeding, mother and baby
are great, and this mother will nurse at least 2 years, just like with her
son.

Our area has a 40% ceserean rate, 60% obesity rate, and while about half the
women start off breastfeeding, very few continue past a week or two. I blame
this on the lack of support and downright ignorance of the medical community
here, but also on the generations of ignorance in the community regarding
the dangers of medicated births and not breastfeeding. As a student nurse, I
take every opportunity to educate those around me about breastfeeding and
the risks involved with messing with the mother. As a doula, I work with one
birth at a time to help establish normalcy in birth and breastfeeding. As a
LLLL, I support the process of breastfeeding.

Look into your own life, and see how many lives you affect. I'll bet it's
more than you think.

Best wishes from Appalachian Ohio,
Heather "Sam" Doak


<<Dear Friends:
    Thanks, Ellen Penchuk, for sharing a marvelous  story of how birth
should
go.
    In this entire year of 2005, I have met only one  woman with such a
story....out of how many hundreds?
    sigh.
    warmly,

Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE>>

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