I too have been upset by this discussion, but would like to advocate that
this Mom may be isolated, upset, and confused, but not a liar. I have worked
with battered women who have been separated from "the real world" so long
that they may seem crazy (?labeled as borderline personality?) to someone who
is not aware of battered women's issues. The worst part of the abuse is the
isolation from other sources of reality for long periods of time. They are
often perceived as making a mountain out of a molehill while the abuser looks
calmly sane. It is a very complex issue. Not very many women in extremely
abusive situations come forward and say "Help me, I am in XYZ situation." It
is hard to be that articulate or direct when a large part of your abuse has
been to tell you how crazy and worthless you are. Battered women go back to
the abuser because they see no other options. They can only make that choice
by distorting reality in a way and denying how bad the abuse really is. When
abuse seems normal, the rest of the world can seem pretty crazy. I have seen
women exaggerate other problems to get attention directed on them so that
they can ultimately get help for their abusive situation, but it often takes
a loooong time to figure out appropriate ways to get help.

 I am rambling about a non-lactation issue, but I wanted to make the point
that abuse is a very complex issue that needs to be sorted out by people
sensitive to the whole story. This family does have a lot of problems that we
have no way of judging or understanding out of context. Battered women are
often not believed or understood and this only adds to their isolation. I
think the point that Anne A. was making was that the staff at Marie's
hospital needs to work together to see the whole picture and not blame or
judge each other.

Marie of WI LLLL