> "SinceJanuary of this year I've been employed as an LC in the Education
> Department at Hollister, maker of the Ameda breast pumps and distributor
> of the Ameda ComfortGels (previously Kendall Maternimates) and Lansinoh."
>
> Nancy, may I have permission to share this part of your post with various
> lists in the UK? The Breastfeeding Answerbook is very well respected here,
> and it sounds like you took up this employment after the third edition
> appeared, but this is going to put some of us who use the book for training,
> and enthusiastically recommended it to health professionals, into a
> quandary. The information in the book about lansinoh always had to be
> qualified even in the second edition (LLLGB sent a sticker we inserted on
> various pages saying they did not endorse it, and they supply this for the
> third edition, too), but it sounds like we might not be able to use any
> further editions.
>
> Yours with a heavy heart,
> Magda Sachs
Magda,
I hope I can set your mind at ease. First of all, your assumption is correct. I
*did* start my position at Hollister after I finished revising The Breastfeeding
Answer Book. So you can continue to feel comfortable recommending it. And yes, you
may share that part of my post with anyone you think would be interested.
Regarding future editions, we usually do a revision every five years or so, so if you
don't mind, perhaps we could worry about this one a little closer to the time it will
matter. Writing a book is a little like having a baby. Most of us prefer not think
about the "next one" until the current one is a little older. Life is so
unpredictable, anything could happen. Who knows, I may not live that long! I would
like to think, though, that if I *do* work on a future edition that it would be
judged on its own merits, rather than on anything else.
Regarding my new position, I answer mothers' e-mails (and phone calls), addressing
questions about breastfeeding. In addition, my job involves developing continuing
education programs for breastfeeding professionals and providing the lactation
perspective during the development of products designed to help mothers succeed at
breastfeeding. (Is there anyone on this list who believes that *no* mother *ever*
benefits from a good breastfeeding product?)
The reason I clarified in my previous post that I am an LC in the Education
Department is that I wanted everyone on Lactnet to know that I was not hired in a
sales capacity at Hollister. I am doing much the same work I used to do, only in a
different setting.
In my new job it has been gratifying to me to find that I can still significantly
affect women's breastfeeding success, even though I don't see them and their babies
in person. I've had many people call me back to tell me, "After I talked to you, I
was finally able to bring in a full milk supply." That's a great feeling.
Many of us on this list work in different settings. In the past I've gotten flack
because I went from being a volunteer breastfeeding counselor (I spent 13 years as an
active LLL Leader) to an LC in private practice. At the time, some of my colleagues
considered it unseemly that I began to take money for the same work I once did for
free. Some of them told me to my face that they felt they could no longer trust me
to do right by mothers or by breastfeeding because I was receiving money for my
work.
I expected I would probably get some flack about my new position, too. But at the
moment, it is right for me and for my family. For ten years I was on call 24 hours a
day seven days a week in my practice. It was time to move to a position with regular
hours. My health and my sanity depended on it.
We all need to be careful to make the right decisions, no matter what setting we are
in. After 21 years of helping mothers breastfeed, I'd like to think I can continue
to do right by mothers and by my profession in my new position. I think it is a good
thing that someone who knows about breastfeeding is in this position. If at any time
you (and by this I mean not just you, Magda, but any of Lactnet's 3,000 subscribers)
believe that I've done something questionable, please let me know. You are welcome
to call me on it.
All my best,
Nancy Mohrbacher, IBCLC
Chicago suburbs, Illinois USA
>
>
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