At the risk of getting into trouble here - I contradict doctors all the time
and I have no idea why we are so hesitant about it. One of my very good
friends is a doctor, now retired from active practice, and she used to have
a sign in her office that said "Remember, I could be wrong."

I have been a La Leche League Leader for more than 20 years now, and my
understanding is that when I work with mothers, I am sharing information -
both research and the experiences of other mothers. If that information
happens to contradict the information or advice the mother has been given by
her physician, well, it contradicts it. Then it is up to the mother to
decide what to do. I have no trouble at all reminding the mother that the
decision is ultimately hers. I'll suggest questions she might want to ask
her doctor about the advice she's received, and I'll share copies or sources
for research.

A doctor is not a god. Following a doctor's advice is not the route to
"salvation."  I am convinced that I have been instrumental in saving the
lives of some babies because I contradicted doctors who had given the
parents bad advice (for example, telling a mother whose five-week-old baby
would not nurse and seemed lethargic that the problem was the baby was
hungry and she should go home and get the baby some formula - in fact, the
baby had meningitis.)

I was kind of horrified to read the post from the LC who got in trouble for
telling parents about their baby's cleft palate when the doctor had told
them the baby was okay. Who is important here? Why is the doctor's "right"
never to be contradicted more important than the parents' right to know the
truth about their baby's condition?? I think it's appalling that she was
criticized for this.

Teresa Pitman
LLL Leader, Guelph, Ontario

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html