Coach Smith here.  If we're going to "err on the side of caution," then we
should avoid all pesticides, artificial colors, and chemical preservatives
in our food; never drink alcohol or coffee or cola; avoid all drugs in
labor, and never, EVER let a drop of non-human milk pass our babies' lips.
Also, never drive a car; buy fast food; wear synthetic fiber clothing, or
perm/color our hair. And so on.

 

The fine line we all walk is balancing real risks with real life. Paranoia
is at one end of the spectrum; foolhardy, risk-taking behavior is at the
other. Most mothers are somewhere between those two extremes. 

 

Breastmilk has to get very polluted before formula looks safer. The
insidious underlying message when there is talk about "something" in
mothers' milk is "The MOTHER is a risk to her own baby." That, my friends,
is a dangerous, patronizing concept at best.

 

I stand by my "Rule #2: THE MOTHER IS RIGHT." (Rule #3: "It's HER baby.")
And lastly, I fully agree with Pat Gima's elegant summary of the LC role:

1.	Show up
2.	Pay attention
3.	Speak the truth
4.	Let go of the outcome. 

 

Linda J. Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC

Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre Ltd

6540 Cedarview Ct, Dayton OH 45459

937-438-9458 / fax 937-438-3229

www.BFLRC.com  

 


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