Pam and Margie,
I'm so excited for you both.  This is an excellent opportunity to
clarify any misrepresentation.

Pam asked how many breastfed babies have died due to dehydration (or
lack of breastfeeding).  There have only been a few cases that hit the
headlines in the last five years.  But what I think we should focus on
is that these mothers sought help.  The mother that was on the front
page of the Wall Street Journal called her hospital, her doctor and
others.  The mother in New York City sought help from her local clinic
and from her hospital.

If you look at these stories of tragic loss, our focus needs to come
back to us.  What is our society doing to support these women?  Not just
the medical community, but all of us?  In contrast to the stories of
cleaning women and security guards teaching moms about breastfeeding,
our society is poorly equipped to support the breastfeeding mother and
infant.  These mothers didn't "allow" it to happen; we failed to hear
them.

Good luck on Wednesday night.  I'll be anxious to hear from you all.
--
Jeanne Mitchell, Austin, TX
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle."
Plato  http://www.flash.net/~xanth/home.htm
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