Hi Lactnetters,
I don't post often, so here's a brief introduction: I'm an LLL member,
working on a degree in instructional design, interested in bf advocacy and
education, nursing an 18-month old. I love Lactnet and have learned a lot
from reading all the interesting discussions.
I do volunteer work for a regional magazine called Southern Exposure, which
is published in my home town (Durham, NC). SE is an award-winning
investigative journalism magazine published by the Institute for Southern
Studies (a non-profit research group). Their mission is community
empowerment -- they provide research and community organizing services in
support of issues such as clean air, clean water, responsive government,
etc.
They are planning on doing a feature story on women's health issues in
1997, and I have suggested to the editor that they include breastfeeding as
one of the topics covered. She is responsive to the idea, and wants more
information. I gave her a little background (she has no children and so
doesn't have any personal bf experience), and here's what she's interested
in:
Statistics on rates of breastfeeding, especially by:
* race
* income
* WIC vs. non-Wic
* rural vs. urban
etc.
Documentable stories of birth control shots for mothers which interfered
with their ability to bf, etc. (especially the low-income angle).
Information on institutional DISincentives to bf for women, on hospitals'
incentives to provide formula, etc.
I can also think of issues such as:
* information on LC's (what they are, how licensed/certified, how
utilized in hospitals, interactions with peds, nurses, etc., whether
reimbursed by insurance, etc. (The good and the bad)
* local efforts by some LLL groups (or others) to reach out to women of color
(in my community at least, LLL is very middle-class white -- we are
trying to change that to reach more of our population)
* Any local efforts to promote bf in the South: stories, experiences,
obstacles overcome, barriers still in place, etc.
This is a great opportunity for us to start a national discussion on bf
policies, cultural norms, mother and child health, etc. (Southern
Exposure's stories are often picked up by the national media. They are a
very well-respected publication.)
Also, SE's specialty is investigative journalism -- if there's a story to
be told, and we can get them interested in it, they can knock the socks off
the establishment.
*We* know how important bf is to mother, baby, and society -- this is a
chance to help others understand its importance, and to help the public
realize how bf is undermined in so many ways by corporations, government,
and the general culture. (Too bad the Monterey Aquarium isn't in the South
-- that would make a great sidebar story, but I don't know if they'd use it
because it was in CA.)
My plea to all you Lactnetters, especially those in SE's "beat":
Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, DC
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas
Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma
Send your facts and stories (not necessarily limited to the topics listed
above -- I'm sure you all can think of some more good ones to add!) to:
Pat Arnow, SE Editor
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Or contact Pat at: PO Box 531, Durham, NC 27702
Phone 919-419-8311, extension 26, Fax 919-419-8315
I hope we can fill her mailbox!
--
Betty Meeler
mother to Jack (18 mos), half-way through my degree,
and with electrical power for the first time in 4 days in the wake of Fran.
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