I believe we need to think about the implications of believing that most
American women are wimps in regard to pain.  We will be seeing many of
these women in our practices.   Are we going to disguise our belief that
they are wimps or are we going to address it directly?  How effective
will we be in getting a mother through sore nipples, if we believe that
most of them are wimps anyway?  I believe practice always follows belief
therefore know what you believe and why.
Studies have shown that mothers in labor get alot of pain relief from
simply having someone there who shares the pain, holds the mother's
hand, gives her courage to go on--the doula.  I believe that the courage
to withstand pain physically and emotionally has alot to do with having
others accept our pain, be there, hold our hand, and give us hope.
How can we be there for our moms, if we already believe that they are
wimps?
I believe there are a number of breastfeeding problems that should not
be triaged over the phone, one being sore nipples.  I realize that we
often can only do phone triage due to the type of practice we have, but
I believe that moms should be referred to someone else in the community
of breastfeeding counselors who can see them.  A pain scale isn't needed
when you see the client breastfeeding because most clients cannot hide
their pain.  Pain scales may work well when pain medications are used to
relieve that pain.  But for those of us who cannot dispense pain meds,
it really isn't a necessity.  Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC

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