Ah, yes Dr. Tieman, an new group to be infilitrated with your knowledge!
Lucky them, though they don't know it. Haha.  You know, this is only my personal
experience, but it was actually my ob who told me I should breastfeed.  Your
comment about women's lack of knowledge is on target, and I am so glad they will
get the correct information in your office.  When I was having my first
child, my ob said "are you going to nurse", I said "no, I am not a nurse".  He
said, looking at me as if I must be an absolute moron "no, I mean are you going to
"breastfeed" your baby."  I looked at him like he was from another planet and
said "excuse me, do what?"  Then he shook his head, and said, "breastfeeding
is what mothers do if they want their babies healthy and explained how the
breasts would make milk, and the baby would suck and get the milk." My husband,
poor dear, looked at me like "what have I done" since he is from Italy,
breastfed for 2 years, and all his aunts and uncles were breastfed for more than
that.  He told the doctor, of course she will be breastfeeding even if I have to
tie her down to feed my baby. Haha.  Okay, so obviously I came around.
 Then the doctor handed me a stack of breastfeeding booklets and said
here..read these and you can ask me questions at our next visit".

Looking back I can't believe how totally clueless I was.  I can honestly say
that while I was 24 years old and knew about sex and pregnancy, I had never
seen a baby breastfeed and did not know anyone who ever did it.  (Well, there
was my aunt who told me later when she brought me a Womanly Art of Breastfeeding
in my 6th month and said, read this and you will know the right thing for
your baby,  but I had never seen her nursing because she did not come around my
family much)  The very thought of a baby suckling on a breast for food was
foreign and actually sounded kind of "yuck" to me, totally NOT something I would
be doing.  I can't even describe the feeling of "duh" when I started to think
of all the times I read "pregnant or nursing" on a bottle of whatever and had
no idea at all what "nursing" meant.  Now I think about just how sad that is
and wow, at least now women are more likely to know that breastfeeding at least
exists.

Grant you my OB said some wrong things later, and definitely was not up on
his bf knowledge, but the truth is, that man set me on a path totally different
from anything I would have imagined.  And, my sister, who had her babies 8
years before me, was never even asked about her feeding intentions.  And never
told me her breasts made milk, though back then you took pills for that, and I
had not a clue about that either.

All this to say, never underestimate the power of a doctor's words to a new
mom.  You may be the very first and only person who ever tells her the truth
and that seed may be all she needed.  Either way, she will never be able to
claim ignorance and you can sleep well knowing your are fulfilling your proper
role as a health care provider by informing her of the best health choices for
herself and her child.

Take care,
Pam MazzellaDiBosco, who has now been pregnant or nursing or both for 17
years.  Yikes.  That poor doc, he had no clue the impact he would have in my
world.....

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