I agree that there are people who do not have personal experience with
breastfeeding who probably do well on the exam and do a great job of helping
others.

But I tend to think it does make a difference. I see lots of nurses, for
example, who bottle fed their own children, and while they have the
knowledge and information to help mothers, they simply don't see it as being
all that important. Their children were bottle fed, after all, and they are
fine. I remember one nurse, who was an IBCLC, who spoke often about her
commitment to helping mothers who want to breastfeed, but when things were
not going well, her standard line was "Well, don't worry if you have to go
to formula - mine were all bottle fed and they're smart and healthy." She
felt it was a positive, because it helped mothers not feel guilty - but to
me it was a subtle undermining.

I think it's probably better if the person has not had a child, than if they
have had a child and bottle fed, in many cases.

And while I know Dr. Jack and Dr. Rob have not breastfed, they have been
fathers to breastfed children - so they understand the day-to-day reality of
breastfeeding.

And that's my last point - while I think you can know a lot about
breastfeeding without having done it, and can help mothers, I think it can
make a difference to the mother. She knows that you have been through this,
too, and you can empathize with her feelings of being overwhelmed,
criticized by others, uncomfortable with exposing her body - all those
things that aren't really medical but can be part of what a new
breastfeeding mother is dealing with. You represent a real, breathing person
who has been through this and solved problems (maybe not the same ones, but
we've all had our challenges) and learned to enjoy breastfeeding.

I say this because for years I worked with the CAS (CPS, I think, in the
U.S.) - Children's Aid Societies. All the staff were trained, qualified,
knowledgeable social workers, who I think would all do equally well on
exams. But the most effective in working with parents were those who were
parents themselves - because the parents they were working with knew they
"understood."

Teresa Pitman
Guelph, Ontario

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