I don't know if this is proper or not, but I thought I would introduce
myself and say what a wonderful group of people you all seem to be! I am so
excited to gain some knowledge from you all. Right now I am kind of in a
holding pattern with my counseling career. I am 8 months pregnant and I
have a history of pre-term labor so most of my counseling has been phone
based or internet based for now at least. My name is Melisa and I am just
starting a clinic in my home (sometime in Feb. we should be up and running),
while counseling is planned to be my mainstay, I will also offer women a
wide range of products. I have aspirations of adding a certification in
midwifery to my accomplishments, that is down the road. I am currently
working on a degree in holistic nutrition. I am the mom of 2 boys (almost 4
and 21 months), and this little girl that is happily hanging out in utero at
the time.
I would like to comment on the whole 6 year old debate that is going on
everywhere (not just here), while I agree that a 6 year old can be coerced
into something, I also think that our society (the US) and many others seem
to forget that many cultures find nursing 6 years old to be perfectly
acceptable. I personally have experience with a friend who has a soon to be
5 year old that still nurses maybe once per week. While 5 is too old for
many of us to conceive, you have to take each case individually. We also
have to remember that the case in IL. is just now going to trial, this poor
child has been away from his mother since July I believe, and at the time he
was just 5 years old. While I have clients that boast "I would never nurse
my child that long" you can never say never if you haven't been in that
situation. Personally I never thought I would nurse my second child through
this pregnancy (he's 21 months) and I never thought I would think about
tandem nursing, but saying never doesn't leave room for changes in lifestyle
or opinion upon education. Don't get me wrong, there are some very ill
mothers (and fathers) out there that would find perverse pleasure in this
situation, but I am pretty confident that this is rare. I live in a state
where surprisingly child sex abuse is high, because of the culture, that
same culture keeps breastfeeding to a minimum. A very frustrating
situation. It's all a matter of education, and as health care workers and
many of us parents, we have to be more in tune with our surroundings and
what goes on in them. If in fact this woman (in IL) is just a mom who
enjoys her nursing relationship with her son I am truly sickened at how the
government has handled it. One thing to remember, and this is from personal
and professional experience, the Child Protection Services in the United
States are given the same powers and protection as our IRS and the ATF. All
it takes is a neighbor to suspect abuse, even if unfounded and the state in
by law obligated to investigate. And the state can also take your children
away BEFORE there is any sort of trial. This is in the land of the free.
Now I agree that usually CPS is a service that rarely takes children away
that are not in danger, there are some situations where this is not the
case. I should qualify all of this by saying that if you are a parent with
nothing to hide then the investigations shouldn't be too horrible, but it
will also depend on who your family judge is, and just how pro-family he or
she actually is.
Just my opinion, hope it's not out of line with regards to this list. I am
very excited to be here and am looking forward to all of the knowledge and
wisdom I will gain from everyone!
Happy Holidays!
Melisa
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Did you hear? Breast is Best!
Certified Lactation Counselor
IBCLC Exam Candidate
www.nurturingmama.com opening 02/01
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