<< I know, it seems that everyone should know that breastfeeding is best,
but they do not.  How do you as professionals recommend to make this common
knowledge? Is education the way to go?  Or is it more beneficial to have
follow ups in person every month?>>

Hello Ellen!

When I was nursing my 2nd son, 3rd baby, I was on WIC. The breastfeeding
counselor loved to call me, because she knew I would be the one person who
was exclusively breastfeeding my child, with no qualms.

As a childbirth educator, I assume the mothers will breastfeed. As a doula,
I expect the mothers to breastfeed. As a mother, I breastfed my children,
and each child expected the next child to be breastfed.

I present breastfeeding as the norm. The expectation. The obvious. My
children (now 19, 14, 12 and 9 years) expect others to breastfeed. They are
surprised (ok, shocked!) when someone does not. They grieve for my friends
who cannot breastfeed, understanding the upset it causes the family. They
worry for the child in the grocery store whose mother seems to be ignoring
them, "Mom, why doesn't she just pick up that baby and nurse her?"

It's a small drop in the big bucket, but my children see breastfeeding as
the norm, the expectation, the obvious. They educate their friends to the
normalcy, they speak to their teachers about breastfeeding. Two of my
daughter's teachers have experienced "the talk." One had a baby last month,
one is due in January. "You know my mom is a LLL, if you need any help with
breastfeeding, please call her!"

When I moved here 12 years ago, I was the only person to use a sling in
public. Now, there are well over 50 women in this small town who own and use
slings. It is normal, expected and obvious. One little drop at a time.

Best wishes,
Sam Doak

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