Someone wrote "I can't" might mean "I don't want to" when a mom has
stopped breastfeeding early on.  Is she really stopping because she doesn't
want to breastfeed?
    I don't believe the majority of women who quit in 2 weeks quit because
they never really wanted to breastfeed in the first place.  Why can't we
admit women are not getting the support they need to continue when they quit
in 2 weeks??
    I believe moms who say "I can't" truly got the message somewhere that
they can't.
    The "I can't" message isn't just inside her -- it may be coming through
a significant other, health care worker, mother, mother-in-law, neighbor,
friend, co-worker, or it may just be her - but I think that would be rare.
    But if she were strong enough, she could withstand all the pressure to
not breastfeed, or not continue breastfeeding, right?  Where does this "if
she really wanted to do it" stuff come from?  (I think I'm scared to hear
the answer to that one.)
    Doesn't saying, "she never really wanted to" beg the question of why she
tried it in the first place?
    "She never really wanted to do what was best for her baby?"  I just
don't believe that.
    "She never really knew that there are policies at the beautiful hospital
she toured that might make her doubt herself and not the policy?"  (now
we're getting warmer...)
    "She never really got the message that her body's milk is the normal
food for her baby and that formula alone is a distant 4th-7th choice?"  I
think this is the most likely culprit.
    (1st -bfing, 2nd-pumped milk, 3rd banked milk, 4th-bfing with formula
supplements, 5th-....you could even do 2nd choice as bfing with pumped milk
....etc. so that eventually formula alone with no breastfeeding or
breastmilk would be way down on the choice list - got this idea from our
USDA auditor!!!!! combined with Diane's work)....
    As for Oprah, I think she'd be happy to do a show on how breastfeeding
empowers women.  How breastfeeding isn't something women "should" do -- it
is something they have a right to do.  Okay, anybody have Oprah's url??
TIA,
Jill Lund, RD, MS
St. Louis, Missouri WIC

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