I have been thinking lately about how frustrating my work is--all the obstacles to successful breastfeeding that seem to surround me.  I truly love working with breastfeeding moms, which is why I am doing this work.  However, I hear many of the same problems expressed by most all LC's, and yet we keep on crusading and trying to effect change.  I have done similar work in a previous life as a substance abuse prevention educator in the community.  Being a change agent is difficult, although through my prevention work I learned models for change and apply that knowledge to the field of breastfeeding now.  I can see my own need to try to make a difference in the world, and can imagine other arenas where I might be doing the same thing.  I was just sort of wondering what it is about us, because I do perceive similarities in the passion of LC's everywhere, to persist in the face of much cultural and bureaucratic opposition.  Obviously, we believe strongly in the work we are doing and its value to individuals as well as society; I guess that is where the persistence comes from.  Personally, I even consider helping moms to breastfeed to be the most primary prevention of many current social problems, rather than waiting until children become teenagers and trying to teach them the dangers of drugs, etc.  "Good mothering through breastfeeding" is truly a powerful way to affect a child's life.

So my question is, what makes us hang in there against the odds?  We do seem to be birds of a feather, as I read Lactnet and go to conferences.  Do other LC's feel overwhelmed and discouraged at times, as I do?

Patricia Ellis, RN, IBCLC
New Jersey, private and hospital LC
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