Hello all!

I have followed with interest the discussion about MDs (and others) who
may coerce women into breastfeeding, particularly when the discussion
compared that situation to the "need" to persuade parents to vaccinate
their children.  As a mother who DOES breastfeed and DOESN'T vaccinate, I
had some conflicting feelings about the subject.  I would humbly offer
(please, no flames, I don't seek conversion or to convert others here),
that breastfeeding and non-vaccination are both natural states.  A parent
must have a compelling reason to choose the interventions, formula and
inoculation, respectively.  For a mother who has undergone a radical
mastectomy, there is a highly compelling reason to use formula (and there
may be other less compelling reasons for the choice as well).  Many
parents find the threat of disease a compelling enough reason to accept
the short and long term risks of vaccination.  Some parents find some
diseases more compelling risks than others (e.g. polio vs. rubella).

I think what is crucial IN BOTH CASES is that the parents need to
educate themselves before taking any steps to intervene in a natural
process.  Most people just rest on their assumptions that formula is OK,
that shots are OK, etc.  (In fact, in the case of the latter, forgoing
vaccinations is seen by many as tantamount to child abuse.)  A
practitioner concerned about refusal to breastfeed or vaccinate should
make it a point to discuss (not just lecture about) the issue at hand.
Frankly, I think that parents who accept their responsibilty to educate
themselves and make decisions about their child's health, however
unpopular those decisions might be, are more to be trusted in matters of
health than those who unquestioning go with society's current "default."


Hopping down (thanks for listening),

Penny Piercy, LLLL, MOM (Patrick 2 1/2) from Bloomington, IN