Susan Burger wrote, "No breastfeeding helper should be diminished by
declaring them 'just like any other'.  They should be valued for their own
specific and important role in the endemic epidemic."

Hear, hear, Susan!  Thanks for the perspective about how intractable
culturally-supported epidemics are, until there is cooperation in all
directions!

I am finding that a great challenge is to even monitor the progress of the
epidemic and the measures against it.  The entities that profit from
artificial feeding are like hydras, as we see with the latest move from
Nestle to better penetrate "emerging markets".  Those directly offering
breastfeeding support struggle to balance their time caring for their
clients, their own families, and their continuing education, while
networking can too often fall by the wayside.  Thank goodness for LACTNET
and breastfeeding coalitions -- but only a fraction of us manage to gain
much perspective on our role in our communities' breastfeeding support
configuration, which is also in constant flux.

Ruth Piatak, BA, MS, LLLL, IBCLC
WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor
Tulsa, Oklahoma
918-585-9114
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