Barbara wrote at the end of her mving case history:
"Babies WANT to breastfeed, but sometimes they CAN'T.  More expert support,
given in a much more timely manner would have prevented this whole debacle.
No offense to peer counselors -- they are great support for normal
situations, but that's all this mom ever saw, and she needed more."

I think we in UK would agree that, with skilled support like that you describe
yourself as supplying, Barbara, test weighing is one tool which you clearly use
in a thought-out and helpful way.

In this country, there is hardly any professional support of this calibre --
indeed I am struggling to use more than my fingers to count the HCPs I have
heard of or know who might go in that catagory, althogh there clearly are
*some*.  As there are more than 55 million inhabitants of UK, it isn't an
impressive ratio.  As lay counsellors (no offense taken) we are in the position
of standing with our fingers in the gaping dyke with a tide of stuff pouring
over us.  Professionals that I see, even the most bf friendly and clued-up ones,
are *often* *also* floundering with not enough skills to deal with 'normal' and
'ordinary' breastfeeding.

In this situation, please forgive us for being wary of techniques that we know
have caused harm in the past in this country, and that we do not see anyone with
the requisite skill or common-sense to implement in a way which would be
positive to women and babies.

Anyone want to call me on my assessment of the UK situation?

Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter