I love a good soap box.....

To me a fanatic is someone who believes strongly in something you don't. And
certainly that describes most (if not all) here on Lactnet, as compared to
others not so committed to breastfeeding. Typically the ones who are quickest to
label us as fanatics are the ones who have made different choices in their
parenting. What we have to say undermines what they have based their parenting
decisions on, and no one wants to hear that they have made less than the best
choice for their children.

I wonder why it is that women do not get angry when they hear all the research
about breastfeeding. Why do they not complain loud and long about being duped by
the formula companies and others who allowed them to think that formula is just
as good as breast milk? Why is the anger instead directed at those who would
unearth all the research and  the underhanded ways the formula companies have
been known to participate in?

Compare this to another story that perhaps more on Lactnet are involved in
besides myself. I'm a DES daughter--my mother took the synthetic estrogen,
diestersylbestrol, while pregnant with me. She had miscarried before my sister
was born and then took the DES to prevent another miscarriage with me. (As a
side note, she thinks she took something during the pregnancy with my sister but
the doctor was unwilling to admit what it was she took. My sister had a
hysterectomy for cervical cancer at age 31, before any kids....) At the time my
mom took the DES (1954) it was already in the literature that it was NOT
effective and that it was carcinogenic. She trusted her doctor. Years later,
I've had some problems I can attribute to the DES (no cancer, thankfully) and a
few that I wonder about (such as two miscarriages myself), and apparently there
is some evidence that my daughter as a 2nd generation is at a higher risk of
being affected by something her grandmother took. AS the word about DES got out,
women got ANGRY. There were lawsuits filed (and may continue to be filed. I used
to keep up with a DES registry that would tell me more than I wanted to know and
realized it was just making me paranoid so I just stay on top of checkups now
with a knowledgeable doc). Women didn't continue to take the stuff once the
truth was well known (although admittedly it was still being used as late as
1973 for miscarriage), and they certainly didn't blame those who reported the
research!

And how about the breast implants? The anger there is directed where it should
be, not at the folks who brought up the concerns in the first place.

Why are the stories that are in such things as The Politics of Breastfeeding by
Gabrielle Palmer not ever picked up by 20/20, Prime Time, or any other show
known for its investigative reporting??  The stories have every bit of dirt
these shows specialize in--medical quackery, human experimentation,
international intrigue, innocent victims, etc. etc etc.

I realize that there may still be someone on Lactnet who silently represents the
formula companies, and I have to wonder what that says about them and their
power.  I would love to be a fly on the wall some time at a formula factory. Do
you suppose everyone who works there believes in the tactics used by so many of
these companies? Are they powerless to complain?

And, having said all that from the teetering soap box, none of it is important
when talking to a mom who is considering breastfeeding or who is and is having
trouble. She doesn't need to feel like she is embarking on a major political
battle just to feed her baby. She needs to know that it is best. She needs to
see other moms actively engaging in breastfeeding as an integral part of their
lives. She needs to know there are folks who can help her through the rough
spots--many of which are related to just being a parent, and not specifically
related to breastfeeding. She needs to know where to get help if the problem is
more than just a nuisance. And, she needs to know that if, for whatever reason,
she cannot breastfeed her baby, that there is a safe product she can use as an
alternative. If that is the choice she makes (or is made for her), she needs to
know the risks involved. And above all, she needs to be supported in her
decisions. That is how we empower women!

Happy World Breastfeeding Week!

Melissa Vickers, IBCLC
[log in to unmask]

PS. We seemed to have chosen a particularly strong soap box and it is now
waiting for the next "fanatic" to climb aboard!