Amen! Kay
-------------- Original message from Kay G <[log in to unmask]>: -------------- 


> I am a long-term lurker on lactnet, a mother who was both successful and 
> unsuccessful at breastfeeding, a NICU RN, and a hospital-based IBCLC. 
> I am immensely grateful to the numerous experts who share their wisdom and 
> stories on this messageboard, and to people like Morgan who bravely 
> battle "the system". 
> BUT....One issue that I see recurring repeatedly on this messageboard, that 
> does nothing but create a polarizing "us against them" mentality, is the 
> constant criticism of healthcare personnel. The recent posts about "weekend- 
> trained" LCs in hospitals is a perfect example. 
> I understand that there are many changes that could be made in the provision 
> of care to mothers in the US, and a lot of education to be done for many 
> HCPs, but when negative stereotyping, generalizations, and broad criticisms 
> are made, it tars us all with the same brush, and that is a disservice to all 
> the 
> nurses, doctors, Lactation Consultants (under whichever credential they were 
> trained), and other healthcare personnel that go about their days trying to 
> provide the best care possible to mothers and babies, at the risk of being 
> blamed, criticized, or sued, if something goes "wrong". 
> Over my 20 year career, in several settings, I have worked with some amazing 
> people - 
> from the L&D nurses who help anxious mothers put the baby to the breast for 
> the first time, even though they have another mother about to deliver in the 
> room next door, 
> to the Nursery Nurses who valiantly attempt to help babies latch to some of 
> the flattest nipples I've ever seen, 
> to the Lactation Consultants who skip lunch yet again because a baby decides 
> he is ready to eat at the same time as the LC's lunch break, 
> to the NICU nurses who gently co-erce the frightened premie mother into 
> doing STSC with her baby all attached to tubes and wires, or squeal gleefully 
> when a new mother brings those precious drops of colostrum for her baby, 
> to the Neos who hold off on starting feeds until the mother is able to provide 
> her own milk, and were instrumental in getting our Milk Bank up and running. 
> We are not all devils worshipping at the altar of medicalized birth. 
> Many of us work tirelessly, day after day, assessing each situation as it 
> arises, supporting the breastfeeding dyad, and living in hope that one day the 
> tide will turn and society, as a whole, will fully understand and support a 
> birthing and mothering experience that is in the best interests of all parties 
> involved. 
> 
> Please be gentle with your criticisms, resist the generalizations, and remember 
> that stereotyping benefits no-one. 
> 
> Kay 
> 
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