I remain fascinated with the dialogue surrounding the various lactation credentials. This discussion reminds me of a poem so many of us are familiar with, The Blind Man and the Elephant. This poem summarizes the experience of numerous blind men touching different areas of the same elephant and describing the object they are touching. Unbeknownst to them they are all touching the same item, just different parts and although their individual perceptions are true for them and very real, the perception of the man holding the trunk is far different from the man holding the ear!
What this means is the need for breastfeeding support for a woman who is giving birth in N America may be quite different then the need for breastfeeding support of a woman birthing in an undeveloped country, which may be very different then the need for breastfeeding support a medical student seeking to increase their knowledge base may seek, which may be different then the need for breastfeeding support a grandmother is seeking to support her pregnant daughter which may be different then the support a young teenage mother is seeking.....you get the idea. The skills to meet the needs of each of these people is quite varied.
Breastfeeding support is not exclusive to one academic discipline. The genre of breastfeeding support is drawn from numerous fields which ranges from biology to art. Personally I cannot think of a lactation credential that encompasses all of the potential needs the breastfeeding family, or the public, or persons employed in a field that touches breastefeeding families may have. Each of the credentials that have been discussed makes a vital contribution to the support of breastfeeding. I don't know that one credential could address the myriad of circumstances that benefit from breastfeeding support. I welcome the dialogue as I believe discussing the quality of educational offerings and their objectives and assuring potential students and the public understand what specific credentials reflect is important. I am simply disapointed <sigh> that I don't have a solution.
Michelle H. Kinne ICCE CD(DONA) CLE
www.DoulaDiva.org
The Blind Man and the Elephant
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant~(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation~Might satisfy his mind.
The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side, ~ At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant ~ Is very like a wall!"
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, "Ho! what have we here?
So very round and smooth and sharp? ~ To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant ~ Is very like a spear!"
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands, ~ Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant ~ Is very like a snake!"
The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like ~ Is mighty plain," quoth her;
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant ~ Is very like a tree!"
The Fifth who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most; ~ Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant ~ Is very like a fan!"
The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail ~ That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant ~ Is very like a rope!
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion ~ Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right ~ And all were in the wrong!
Moral
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
-John Godfrey Saxe
________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.
***********************************************
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]
The LACTNET email list is powered by LISTSERV (R).
There is only one LISTSERV. To learn more, visit:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
