In a message dated 10/31/1999 2:29:20 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
<< 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. >>
This seems like an argument with no end! There are wonderful people helping
breastfeeding mothers across the spectrum! Some of them are physicians, some
are nurses, some have worked very hard to get the credentials IBCLC and some
are gasp, just mothers who have been there, done that!
On the other end of the spectrum there are some very ignorant and misinformed
people. Some of those are also physicians, some are nurses, some are yes
IBCLC and some are also mothers that have BTDT as well.
I personally know some excellent physicians, nurses, IBCLCs and mothers that
are accredited bf counselors. I also personally know some really rotten
physicians, nurses, IBCLCs and mothers that are accredited bf counselors.
My point, it is the individual that determines the outcome, and sometimes
one particular individual or a combination of individuals is needed to get
the message across.
Breastfeeding is a very intimate process. There is much more rapped up in it
than just nourishment. If is was just about nourishment, feeding pumped milk
in a bottle would be just fine. Some women will relate better to another
mother that has BTDT, another may need to hear it from a credentialed
professional, and MANY mothers will need to hear it several times from
several different people!!!!
No matter what a person's experience or credentials, several people may have
several different areas of expertise to contribute to a mother.
I have seen mothers that were blown off with bf difficulties by other bf
mothers, because "all you have to do is nurse, nurse, nurse, blah, blah,
blah" and I have seen just as many mothers have bf difficulties after dealing
with professionals that have concentrated so much on the technical process
of bf, and they could have used some simple forget the clock, and just nurse
suggestions.
I personally hate to see this arguing over what is better. It is like the
bad lawyer jokes going around. Everyone hates lawyers until they need one.
I think that everyone would agree that there are good lawyers, mediocre
lawyers and bad lawyers. And I would venture to say that you would all
agree with me that a lawyer that is very experienced in tax law, would not be
the best choice in a malpractice case, and that the lawyer that has
experience with malpractice would not be the best choice for an ugly custody
battle. etc etc etc.
Lactation is no different. A mother may need to deal with an IBCLC at one
point of her lactation, a mother that has BTDT at another time, and a
supportive and knowledgeable physician , nurse, or other health care
professinal at another. Imagine if all of those people worked together
instead of arguing about which one is best? Sorry if this offends anyone,
but that is my .02 and then some.
Lisa Papas in MI
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