Anybody else catch the ABC show "We're Having a Baby!"? Marilu Henner was the
host of this personal glimpse into the lives of such folks as Mary Lou Retton,
Anita Baker, Annie Potts, Roger Clinton (Bill's brother), and a model whose name
escapes me this morning. We got to hear pregnancy and parenting tales from all
these and got to follow Marilu's pregnancy, right up through the delivery.

Being the optimist that I try to be, I had hoped that at least one of these
folks might have put in a plug for breastfeeding. Unfortunately, the closest
they got was showing Marilu with bared shoulders holding her newborn in what
might have been a nursing position. The bottle was well represented though, in
the clips with Anita and the model, and in the bent bottle commercial in the
middle of it.

To add insult to injury, we heard how wonderful epidurals are and some
healthcare person assured Mary Lou (I think) that they are wonderful with no
side effects for mom or baby. We heard Mary Lou say she wasn't going to be a
martyr and suffer all that pain. (Keep in mind this is a former Olympic gymnast
who should be no stranger to pain--or how to work through it effectively!)
Marilu was determined to have an epidural but her labor progressed too quickly
so we heard her yell to a friend who arrived for the delivery "It's too late for
an epidural!"

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised....

Melissa Vickers, IBCLC
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