Had an "aha" moment when I read Jaye's comment: <And the parent often sits on the other
side of the door emotionally abusing themselves with heartbreak and tears
and their own emotional distress because they were taught to ignore their
gut.  So on both sides of the door abuse is happening. >


It strikes me that in the late 1940's on through the mid-70's and beyond when I had occasion to have direct access to the delivery rooms. most of the babies I saw born (now in their 60's down through late 30's), when their heads were just born through the consistent use of forceps, were "assaulted" in the mouth and throat with a rubber bulb syringe roughly applying vacuum in the vicinity of their palates and uvulas, then after being birthed, had their cords clamped and cut ASAP, held upside down by their ankles held in one hand by the doctor as with the other hand he/she paddled them barehanded on their buttocks to make them cry vigorously (to benefit their lungs;-(, then given a scrubbing-to-remove-the-vernix type sponge bath right there in the a/c delivery room, whether or not they were somewhat blue from the cold stress despite their constant loud lung "exercise", even for a short trial period, circumcised after their bath, then swaddled tightly so they could not move their extremities, no hats over their soft spots till the early 70's, then put alone in a bassinet, for "observation',  kept NPO for 12+ hours, many times turned either on their side or frankly turned on their tummies for hours while swaddled tightly!! When there were brought out for their mothers to hold, depending on what shift the birth occurred, the mothers were strictly warned not to unwrap the because of potential for infection!


Those babies are the eldest members of today's childbearing generation, and/or the grandparents and great grandparents of today's newborns!  Who knows what all other fear inducing methodologies we in my generation had used on us and subsequently used on our own children, believing that was what it took to "be a good parent"??


So in my current project of designing how I will lead a discussion group for significant others of potentially-planning-to-breastfeed expectant mothers, I am appreciating what a challenge there is in the #2 recommendation of the surgeon general to supply (re)education to the folks who form the support systems for today's new mothers. OTOH, I see all around in society examples of folks who seem to have gone to the completely opposite extreme as far as lax discipline standards in just about everything (discipline comes from the Latin root 'disciplina' meaning 'to teach'.) There sems to be very little "happy medium"!  


There will be 'politics' of one sort or another still inviting each of us for as long as we are conscious and functional!!


K. Jean Cotterman RNC-E, IBCLC
WIC Volunteer      Dayton OH

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