Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful response Cynthia - it is
very valuable.

In our training as bfcs within the National Childbirth Trust here in
the UK (and I am a tutor, so I carry out this training) we ask
trainees in one of the assignments to consider how the reconcile
their work as a bfc with the need to support all mothers. When marki
ng this, I am looking for an understanding of bf as a global and
national issue, subject to population effects and the responsibility
of governments to address the need to improve bf rates, and the way
the bfc's relationships with individual mothers are conducted.

Much of what you say is related to that.

In some of the posts here, I don't see enough distinction made. Bf
education (which is done with individuals, singly or in groups of
individuals,  as well as at population level) is held to be the same
as teaching about safety (not to mention the post that said we
'should' make women feel guilty!)...and it so isn't!

I agree, Gonneke, that we can't 'make' women feel anything. But their
bad feelings of resentment, disappointment, anger and so on, are
translated by many into 'guilt'....and the 'wrong' sort of bf
education can certainly increase that.

Heather Welford Neil

NCT bfc, UK

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