Dear Lisa,
This is such a tricky area! My local breastfeeding clinic has been not 
doing such a good job lately. Mothers are leaving their visits crying 
and confused. The clinic often gives "permission" for the mothers to 
just stop breastfeeding. If they wanted to stop breastfeeding, the 
mothers just would stop. You don't need to go to a clinic for that! 
These mothers want help and support. That is why they go to the visit. I 
often feel that when a practitioner runs out of ideas they will just 
dismiss the issue as not being important rather than admit they don't 
have more ideas. Reach out! Consult with others! Get new ideas!

I am dong a talk for Gold soon about exactly what Margaret was referring 
to. I am calling it, "Breastfeeding: Baby's First Milestone". The basic 
idea of the talk is that if we re-framed breastfeeding as a milestone, 
something babies should do developmentally, then when they are not doing 
it, we have to take this seriously, not just give a bottle of formula. I 
wrote an outline for this talk one day when I was so frustrated by 
feeling like I was the only person who felt like a baby and mother not 
being able to breastfeed was a red flag. For what? Who knows! But I 
think we should take a serious look! Something is not right. This is one 
of the reasons I love our work. It is challenging. Tricky. Keep current 
with the research and clinical findings. Be a good communicator so you 
can help families feel hopeful and supported. You have to be on your 
toes because each dyad is a little different.

Just like walking or talking, a baby should breastfeed. If they are not, 
something is getting in their way. Our job is to figure out what.

Thank you for this group.
Warmly,



-- 

Barbara Robertson, MA, IBCLC, RLC
The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor
bfcaa.com

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