On Tuesday, February 13, 2007 12:38 PM, Esther Friedman wrote:  “SO very
true Carole; thanks for pointing out that rather horribly scary fact.  I DO
say to people that formula is the biggest unregulated experiment out there!!

  To add to this discussion, I think one of the things that made this thread
so disturbing for me (I normally just lurk, and rarely post) was the
implication that we are in a position to judge whether a mother was capable
/ appropriate / in the position to breastfeed; while we may see cases where
a mom is not adequately caring for her baby and needs intervention to keep
the baby safe, I do not believe that we are supporting the mother, much less
meeting her where she is, by walking in the door and deciding for her that
she should not BF due to the factors we have been discussing.  Even if we
only make this decision in our own mind, the  mother will see it in our
attitude and degree of involvement and encouragement.  Unless the situation
is so extreme that the baby's safety is uncertain or compromised,  it is
simply NOT our call.  Making the decision that someone ought NOT breastfeed
FOR THEM is just as coercive, with much more potential damage, than assuming
that they CAN BF until you see evidence to the contrary from that individual
mother and baby.   Therefore, making that assumption in no way represents
respect for the mother or support for her baby, IMO.  BF is for everyone….”

Esther I agree with you (and Carole).  As an IBCLC who worked in the WIC
program two separate times, for a total of 3½ years, I can vouch for the
inappropriate labels placed on women because they are poor and/or
uneducated.  Many of the women I helped, not only breastfed, but also became
BF peer counselors.  They were wonderful BF ambassadors in the community and
in other states.  Some of them breastfed for 2 years or more, and encouraged
friends and relatives around the USA to breastfeed as much as possible.  The
best that I can do is to meet women where they are, respect them, and help
them.  I always assume that every woman can BF and wants to do what is best
for her child.  If there is a problem, I help as much as I can to unravel
the cause and resolve the problem.  That is my vocation in life.

The same is true for childbirth.  Although I am not a childbirth educator, I
have encouraged many women to have as natural a birth as they can.  Some
have switched Ob/Gyns in their 9th month and received better treatment as a
result.  Just because a woman is in a certain social category doesn’t mean
that she deserves less respect or that her wishes should be ignored.  Many
of the women resented when that happened and I taught them to not allow
themselves to be treated that way.  Nobody has a right to mistreat women
because of their status in our society.  It does take a lot of time to
educate women about BF and childbirth, but every woman deserves that time
and attention.  It is easy to help the ones who really want to breastfeed or
have a natural childbirth, but it is more satisfying to help the ones who
are uninformed.

Warm regards,

Lee

 

Lee Galasso, MS, LLLL, IBCLC, RLC

Lactation Specialist

Lactation Center of Westchester/Putnam

Westchester County in NYS, USA

914-245-2206

[log in to unmask]

 

Vice-President

WPR (Westchester/Putnam/Rockland) Lactation Consortium, an ILCA affiliate

 

 

 


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