In a message dated 2/27/2006 12:05:09 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
Would we rather say we don't have to respect a mother's choices, that we
don't really care why she is reacting as she is because she is wrong,
and continue to deny women real power over their bodies and their lives?
Dear Friends:
Respecting a woman's choice is different to letting that choice be the
basis for care.
When pregnant or breastfeeding women make choices that work against
health, what they are really talking about is something else. The practitioner's
job is to find out what is deeper, and of what her choice is a manifestation.
This is the challenge.
In childbirth, many women choose epidural anesthesia because they are
afraid (of the pain, of loosing control, or of the power of birth). Other
laboring women choose epidural because that is all they are offered.
How often is a laboring woman offered a sandwich, a massage, a walk
outside, or some time in a whirlpool bath as a way to get through labor?
How often are breastfeeding women encouraged to keep their babies with
them all the time, in a setting that promotes intimacy, warmth and
exploration?
How often are hospital staff able to spend the time a new mother needs
to initiate breastfeeding? It can take at least a half-hour, and more like an
hour to help a new mother and baby together. After 20 minutes of s2s, the
baby is either starting self-attachment activity or still sleeping like a rock;
in such cases, the mother is then ready to hand express and spoon feed her
milk. So a half-hour/ per shift may be a minimum for help in the hospital, at
least in my experience.
I know there are places where such measures are routine, and those
places are the exception rather than the rule.
However, a mother's choice may need to be explored, rather than accepted
at face value, as a way all those who attend her should function.
warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE
Maternal-Child Adjunct Faculty Union Institute and University
Film Reviews Editor, Journal of Human Lactation
www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com
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