Coach Smith here again.

 

I initially used this phrase during a lengthy thread about teaching bottle
use in group settings. The context was in discussing early return to
employment in situations where the mother could not realistically breastfeed
her baby (no on-site day care, no flexible schedules, etc). 

 

Some breastfeeding problems can be resolved by providing skilled help for
individual mothers after the crisis occurred. The better "solution" is
preventing the crises in the first place, which means education on the part
of parents and the professionals involved. Setting up a structure that
prevents most problems is the best option, and that means implementing
policy changes in the broader context of the entire health care delivery
system. Systems changes are HARD to do, and require many people working at
many levels of the "system." 

 

The WRONG QUESTION referred to the concept that we can't fix all problems at
the mother-to-mother level - there needs to be changes made at the policy
levels too.  I realize that at a given time, any one of us may have
influence in only one of these spheres. It's very frustrating to be "up to
our necks in alligators," when we would really prefer to set about draining
the swamp. 

 

The good news for today is that many skilled, talented, and smart people are
working at ALL levels in the "systems" to make changes that support
breastfeeding mothers. Peer counselors are far more widespread (and skilled)
than ever before; mother-support-group Leaders conduct meetings all over the
world and have been a MAJOR force in turning around the infant feeding
practices. There are now almost 20,000 IBCLCs globally. At the policy level,
over 20,000 hospitals have implemented BFHI, including entire countries.

 

The bottom line? You don't have to do it all.  At least not today. Trust
your teammates. If you're up to your elbows in sore nipples, remember that
there are others who are up to their elbows in Code monitoring, training
health professionals, writing new policies and laws, analyzing the economics
of infant feeding, and conducting fundamental research. It's OK to focus on
what you CAN do, because you're not alone. Together we're making a
difference for mothers and babies. 

 

Linda J. Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC

Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre Ltd.

6540 Cedarview Ct, Dayton OH 45459 USA

(937) 438-9458 / fax (937) 438-3229

 <http://www.BFLRC.com> www.BFLRC.com

 


             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome