Dear Mary, your comments are appreciated. I hope I am mistaken that you are
feeling defensive here, because there is no reason I can see for you to do
so. I guess I neglected to mention the fact that we do sliding scale work,
and free work also here, in my state. It's not only a paying client thing.
It's setting the tone for myself that I was speaking of.  No one is trying
to eliminate the underprivileged, or pretend they don't exist. My practice
rents pumps free to many mothers, and we provide tons of free service, when
needed. I have never turned a mom away who needed service and couldn't
pay.  I believe you are painting this with a very wide brush..... it
doesn't have to be either/or.

And, to tell you the truth, mothers who cannot pay are going to have to pay
for formula once their babies reach a certain weight. It's not free in
unlimited quantities...so it's either pay for formula, or pay for
help...and help is cheaper, especially in sliding scale scenarios.
I also don't fool myself into thinking that I can save every situation
....by sacrificing my own situation. Even if I get paid $5  for a consult,
I feel that it's a win win.... I don't have to give until I bleed dry. I
have done that for years, and I am done doing it.

>  It is, and most
>likely must remain, just a business to them, and I can respct that. ...
>It's a business, and that is how Western Civilization works. ...My teenage
>daughters see me work with paying clients, they also see the poor and the
>destitute and that their babies are no LESS worthy of their mother's milk
>than the rich woman's baby fromNaperville I saw the day before. I am
>giving my daughters a FULL sense of self worth knowing that when one helps
>those who do not have financial power, you are doing more than just
>cashing a check so you can buy things
>for your own house or your body.


It is not that it is "just a business."  But business is not a dirty
word.  And, my own children have learned and are doing their own community
service work as a result of learning.....

I applaud your work Mary....I think that each of us must decide what works
for us....and our families. There's no need to get defensive.....it is a
fact that women everywhere undervalue themselves and are taken advantage of
by those in power.  I, for one, am tired of this, and don't want to do it
this way anymore. And, I reiiterate, I have never turned a mom down who
needed help.

Kathleen

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