Hi All,
    I am on the third day of being off my feet, gone from pain to ache,
so I guess that is good .
Re: the mom being threatened with docked pay due to
pumping/breastfeeding at work or using break time for such. Look in the
Archeives for Liz Baldwin and get her address from there. When she
appeared on the Leeza show earlier this year, two of the mothers on the
show discussed this issue, as I recall, one quit and one was fired and
has since obtained different employment. Liz would be the best source of
information on this particular issue.

Re: Diet, for the 15 year old street mother, or any mother, I agree with
the comment that the diet work needs to be done within the context of
the local customs. While many world diets would be/are much better and
work beter in this situation, a complete and unusual change would be
discouraging to this mother who apparently is already facing a number of
stresses. Contacting the Red Cross or WHO to see what is airlifted in to
assist these people may help decide what would be the best to indicate
to this mother she should concentrate on or at least attempt to get to
her as often as possible.  Just MHO.

Re: Prepregnant state of uterus, what I understand breastfeeding to do
is, return the uterus to the prepregnant state faster than not
breastfeeding.

Re: No anesthesia in infants and children. Yes, prior to 1984, many HCPs
were led to believe that infants and children did not 'feel' pain as
adults did, so anesthesia and pain meds after surgery were either not
given or used sparingly. The study (I am sorry that I can't remember the
MDs name)  was originally done on the psychological/behavior differences
between pre-term and full term infants. I remeber reading about it in
both my yearly up-date journal and Psychology Today, as the results were
so profound. The study showed that there were identifiable behaviors
that identified a pre-term infant, a full term infant and an overdue
infant (in other words, weight, dates and phsyiological indices were not
the only way to identify the gestational age of the infant). These
indicatiors were extremely predictable. The reactions of these infants
to such things as voices, noise levels, light and stimulation also
indicated a fairly developed - although disorganized - nervous system.
Much more than priviously indicated.This led to more and more use of
anesthesia and analgesic in infants in children, as one of the
conclusions of the study is that pain is pain, how one interprets that
pain does not matter - otherwise we must start judging the pain
thresholds of all prior to any surgical procedure. And certainly a third
persons decision as to whether the individual is or is not feeling pain
is not a valid reason for withholding medication. Somewhere I still have
the original study around here, it was fascinating.  Just a side, I
vividly remember all the HCPs being so amazed at how my 24 week old
premie reacted to me and my husband, they were astondished that he was
able to identify and react to our voices. This was 1984 and 24 weekers
who survived delivery were rare. Workers in the field need to keep up to
date, it changes so quickly. I am sure now, the fact that a 24 weeker
has a memory and is able to discern differences and react accordingly is
not seen as so unusual as it was back then. I do know that their
survival rate is much better than the 2% we were given.

MHO on diet is this, what is a RIGHT diet?  If you search world wide,
there is a wide variety of diets, which both support mother and baby.
There are a wide variety of  foods included on even one culture's diets
(regional variations, religious variations, etc.). I tell my moms to try
to eat a balanced diet, and in everything (food, caffieine, chocolate,
etc.) moderation is the key and then watch for reactions. If and only
then do they need to start watching their diets. I also state that an
occassional fast food meal or 'less' than balanced meal won't harm the
baby, but if they eat every meal at fast food places or refuse to eat
fruits or vegs. then she needs to discuss the situation with a dietician
before instituting breastfeeding. What concerns me most about using the
phrase RIGHT diet is, not the frustration or confusion or even
implication that one must serious alter their life to breastfeed (ala
Bottle Feeding W/O Guilt) but that it adds another fear to expectant and
new mothers, at a time when fears are already rampant and most of the
cause of problems when added to conflicting advice, hormonal changes
(which for first time moms is a new experience) and stress and the
adjustment to this major life change. Is it any wonder any women in
today's society breastfeeds at all?

Leslie Ward
Vine Grove, KY
"The greatest strength is gentleness." Iroquois proverb