LACTNET Archives

Lactation Information and Discussion

LACTNET@COMMUNITY.LSOFT.COM

Options: Use Forum View

Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Roberta Graham <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 12 Jun 1995 22:38:28 -0600
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (78 lines)
Dear LACTNET friends:  Greetings from Yucatan, Mexico

This is my first posting on the LACTNET, having joined just a couple of
days ago, so I thought it would be best to tell you a bit about myself as
an introduction. I'm anxious to 'meet' each of you through our
communications on this wonderful cyber-space highway.....in our case might
we call it the MILKY WAY?  (did anyone groan?...sorry!...(smile) )

 Originally from the Chicago area, I have been living in Merida, Yucatan,
Mexico for the past 22 years. I came here in 1971 to visit the Baha'is and
met a yucatecan member of the Baha'i Faith and married him 2 years later.
MORAL: You'd  better be careful when you travel! I have two children, Riaz
- almost 17 and Shirin,11...both nursed according to the book, so to speak.
6 mo.BF only, and then nursed until a bit past 3 yrs. (Luckily, living
surrounded by the Mayan culture and native people, I received little flack
about this extended nursing)
People in the villages openly nurse in public, and even the urban women are
not uncomfortable about nursing in front of doctors, etc. What a relief
from the U.S. and people's up-tightness about revealing the breast!

In 1979 I began sharing my experience/teaching  pregnant mothers at the
local Natural Childbirth Center when my son was 9 mo. old...and soon found
myself doing house calls for free, out of my zeal to help others to
breastfeed successfully. Later on I began to charge a minimal fee (on the
recommendation of some close Dr. friends AND from the women themselves, who
felt that people will value your counsel and expertise if they have to pay
something for it,however minimal the fee)

As the years passed, I became known here in Merida as an 'expert' (ha-ha)
on BF, and I supposed this was true,to a small degree, since 16 yrs.ago
NOBODY cared much or knew much about successful nursing here, and I was
basically the only source of valid info, thanks to my LLL literature, etc.
and my own personal experience. As the years went by, each experience
taught me a bit more, and after about 15 years of plugging away, hitting my
head against the wall of the medical community, FINALLY THE BABY FRIENDLY
HOSPITAL INITIATIVE CHANGED  IT ALL.  Here in Mexico the Gov't has thrown
its weight 100% behind this program, and Mexico has over 80 hospitals which
have passed UNICEF inspection - and earned their UNICEF recognition as BABY
FRIENDLY HOSPITALS. In the state of Yucatan we have 7 UNICEF-certified
hospitals.

To just give you an idea of how excited about breastfeeding the
community,in general is, - a local radio station invited me to do a weekly
radio program on Breastfeeding from Nov. to Feb. - reaching thousands of
women. Women called in with questions LIVE on the air, and it was a
wonderful way to influence women of many social-economic levels. The local
T.V. station has also broadcast several interviews on breastfeeding, and
for the second one I invited a successful nursing mother and her 4 mo. old
baby to give her testimonial. Teaching by example brings home the message
to those doubt-filled women who have had their confidence undermined by
almost everyone.   I share all this with you all, as a message of cheer.
The change that has taken place in my city has been 15 yrs. in
coming....but progress is being made, thank the Lord!

Nevertheless, during all these years, I had no knowledge of the existence
of ILCA, nor that what I did here, all by my lonesome, had become a
full-blown respected and accepted profession....and that the IBLCE offers a
recognized certification which is now a prestigious achievement. What a
wonderful and marvelous discovery - to learn that I have a whole family of
fellow-lovers of breastfeeding to join. In March, I attended my first LLLI
Lactation Specialist Workshop near Chicago, and was 'blown-away' by simply
being in the same room   with about 70 other gals with whom I had so much
in common. One of the greatest outcomes of this experience was sort of
being 'adopted' by the Chicago-area LACTATION SUPPORT GROUP, via my
new-born friendship with IBCLC's Patricia Drazin and Mary Kay. I guess I'm
sort of their 3rd World Member.They have been so generour in sharing
publications,etc. Let this be a public THANKYOU, Ladies!

I'll be in Phoenix at the ILCA conference, and hope to meet some of you
"LACTNETers", as Kathleen Auerbach calls us. Thank you for taking the time
to read this lenthy missive. I'll be briefer in the future, I promise.

Greetings from the Land of the Maya!

regards,

Roberta

ATOM RSS1 RSS2