Dear Friends:
    I wonder about the "treading lightly" approach. I heard of a clinic where 
the staff is careful not to upset any staff member or patient by "pushing" 
breastfeeding. They don't want to make anyone feel "bad". 
    They also wonder why their breastfeeding rate is low.

    This made me think that perhaps an attitude of gentleness about the 
importance of breastfeeding undoes our promotion efforts. The public wants strong 
messages to know what to do, as with car seats and smoking. When healthcare 
staff presents a soft recommendation about breastfeeding to avoid making anyone 
feel "guilty", then the public gets the idea, from US the healthcare 
professional, that breastfeeding doesn't really matter, that it is nice but not a big 
deal.

    It is analagous to raising children. Parents have to give strong 
messages, kids need boundaries to learn. While healthcare staff are not parental, we 
need to give strong messages for people to learn. 

    I think of all the times I've danced around a mother who is doing 
both.........I don't want to scare her about formula, or make her feel bad. (I've 
encorporated the culture of working in this arena for 30 years into my teaching. 
) So I've said nothing...........but why? The mother deserves to know the 
risks and consequences of her choice, just as with tobacco or safe bed sharing. We 
are healthcare professionals, for heaven's sake! We have to give the correct 
messages. So what if the mother doesn't like it or chooses something else; we 
can't make her choose. We can only give her the best information and ideally, 
support the health promoting activity in our environment.

    What do you all think?
    warmly,
    
    

Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE,CIMI
Adjunct Faculty, Union Institute and University, Lactation Program
Film Reviews Editor, Journal of Human Lactation
www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com

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