Well send Sharon !

Lori Werrell, IBCLC
Leonardtown MD
Trying to be a non-judgemental "mainstream" LC so that we can bring everyone
else along one baby step at a time.
-----Original Message-----
From: Sharon S Knorr <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, February 19, 1999 3:11 PM
Subject: Re: superior? (long)


>Dear Karen,
>
>I think I know what you are saying.  It is similar to what happened in
>some LLL groups years ago, when I was having babies.  This was during the
>height of the "natural childbirth" "back to the earth" movement.  There
>was one group in particular that I attended several times.  There was
>never anything overtly said condemning certain ideas, but it became very
>clear that not only was breastfeeding very important, but that other
>things were expected as well of the "ideal" family - midwifery care and
>homebirths, co-sleeping, vegetarian or near vegetarian meals with no
>white sugar or white flour, etc., nursing until the child was at least
>several years old (preferably longer), homeschooling, cotton clothing,
>......   Even though many of these things were, in fact, part of my
>lifestyle, this group made even me uncomfortable at times, and definitely
>turned off more that one new mom to LLL.   Again, noone said that you
>were "bad" if you didn't do these things, but the general atmosphere made
>it difficult to engage in conversation that was not very supportive of
>these ideals.  Thankfully, LLL really started to clamp down on the
>"mixing ideas" thing and I don't think this goes on very much any more.
>We try very hard to support everyone where they are and try to offer
>exposure rather than indocrination to various ideas about feeding and
>parenting.
>
>It is not difficult to imagine that a "mainstream" health professional
>beginning to monitor this list would feel very uncomfortable after
>reading posts that call formula "poison" or label standard medical
>practices as negligence or malpractice or worse.  Look at what happened
>when a newcomer, Dr. Andrew, proferred a few comments/questions that were
>a bit more mainstream - and he seems to be very supportive of
>breastfeeding and some of the other stuff that we talk about here.  Which
>is not to say that comments shouldn't be made - it's the way in which
>they are offered.
>
>The hard part for me is to offer an alternative.  This list is different
>from some other "professional" type lists in that we get into a lot of
>personal stuff here as well as the more nitty-gritty breastfeeding case
>history discussions.  A health professional looking for information about
>breastfeeding will most certainly get that if he/she stays around for a
>while., but a lot more as well.  Is this a bad thing?  It depends on
>which perspective you are coming from.  As a member of a fledgling
>profession that often brings much more frustration than satisfaction, it
>is great to hear about how everyone else is doing in the trenches.  It is
>nice to have a place to vent when necessary and know that you all
>understand.  It is interesting and helpful to know what really is
>"normal" behavior.  But it is disquieting to know that health
>professionals at a different place than we are right now are reading
>these posts and forming ideas about us (lactation consultants) and about
>breastfeeding that will not be helpful to our cause.  I am very careful
>in my dealings with those that are "uninformed" about breastfeeding.  And
>although I am very tired of having to tread lightly with many physicians,
>I know how much damage can be done by offending the wrong persons in
>positions of power.
>
>Perhaps the best thing right now is to simply keep in mind while posting
>that our audience has become quite large.  I think it is fine to voice a
>strong opinion, but we should read our posts several times before sending
>and be sure we really want a thousand plus people or more to hear what we
>are saying or that we are saying what we really mean.  I myself have
>completely deep-sixed several posts that, in the light of day, really
>served no purpose other than to condemn or inflame. And there were a few
>I should have stopped, but didn't.
>
>For those who are new to our list, I hope that you do stick around and
>also delve into the archives for some of the most important and
>up-to-date info about breastfeeding that there is to be found anywhere
>today.  And remember that all lactation consultants are unique and just
>like in any profession, they can range widely in ideas and personalities.
> What we all share is an abiding desire to learn and then educate as many
>as possible about breastfeeding and to give as many babies as possible
>the opportunity to receive the unique and very important gift of mother's
>milk.
>
>Warmly,
>Sharon Knorr, BSMT, LLLL, IBCLC in Newark, New York (near Rochester)
>mailto:[log in to unmask]
>
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