THis note comes from Joyce Blangiardo, and is so good I think we might
second it, and follow up her excellent letter with more to old Oprah, who
needs a dose of reality therapy concerning breastfeeding and childbirth. I
think that urging OPHAH to do a show where IBCLCS, and certified childbirth
instructors and LLLeaders discuss childbearing and breastfeeding in accurate
informed ways would be very helpful and influential.

Kathleen


>Date: Sun, 3 Mar 96 23:19:45 UT
>From: "Joyce Blangiardo" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Cc: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Oprah
>
>Dear Kathleens,
>       As co-owners of Lactnet, I thought you might be interested to see the letter
>I sent Oprah regarding the airing of  her 3/1/96 show on childbirth.  It gave
>a tremendous amount of misinformation, presented as if it were fact, and as an
>IBCLC and Lamaze teacher, I felt it did a tremendous disservice to viewers.
>The transcript is probably available, if you haven't seen the show.  I've seen
>a few comments on Lactnet; they did not reveal that Lamaze was characterized
>as one of the ten greatest lies about childbirth, that she vehemently
>advocated epidurals, and that the general consensus about breastpumps was that
>they were humiliating.  They also failed to mention LC's as far as I could
>see.  Very upsetting....
>       This is very long, and I apologize for that.  In retrospect I can see that I
>wish I'd said more about the breastfeeding issues, but it would have been even
>longer.    I felt it probably overstepped the lengths you'd like for Lactnet,
>or I'd have posted it there.    Am I right?  Here goes:
>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
>Dear Oprah,
>       I need to comment on the Oprah show on 3/1/96 featuring "What your body's
>like after childbirth...Things your mother didn't tell you".   First, an
>introduction:  I'm an RN, an ASPO/Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (ACCE)
>for 25 years, a fellow in the American College of Childbirth Educators
>(FACCE), an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant,
>sometimes referred to as LC), and also an ASPO/Lamaze  National Faculty Member
>(one of 30 faculty members nationwide who teach the program candidates must
>complete in order to become ACCE's).  Lamaze has been my life's work.
>       As funny as the show intended to be, it was presented at the expense of
>instilling fear and misinformation into huge numbers of women.  The Oprah show
>has presented so many important themes and done such good...but when a woman
>as powerful as Oprah says "I advocate epidurals", I would ask that you pause
>and consider your tremendous power as an advocate for women (and babies).  You
>have seen the benefit of epidurals, as you've discussed many times on your
>show. What about the dangers of epidurals?  The potential side effects to mom
>and baby and breastfeeding?  The potential side effects are there, and there
>are plenty of them.  When you showcase guests (a comedian and an author
>selling her book) who go for the laugh at the expense of presenting valid
>information to women, in my opinion it would have been wise to issue a
>disclaimer that their birth and breastfeeding tales reflected only their own
>individual experiences and should not be generalized as if their experiences
>are "fact" for all women.
>       The discussion on labor ("baby wrestles to get out of you"-my paraphrase of
>the author's quote) contained wrongful information.  The baby does not
>wrestle, but is a passenger in the process. "Give me heroin"-author's quote,
>and your comment "I'm an advocate of epidurals" both failed to mention the
>dangers of medication use/abuse.  Clearly medication has its role in
>childbirth.  It also has its potential risks.
>       The show also did nothing to encourage women to breastfeed.  There was a
>lengthy discussion on how "the milk doesn't come out of just one hole...it
>comes out of six or seven", followed by your excited surprise "It comes out of
>six or seven?"  Great laughter ensued.  Good entertainment.  But accurate
>information?  No!   Breastfeeding and Human Lactation, a well respected text
>on breastfeeding for LC's on p.84 states "There are 15 to 20 openings (pores)
>in the nipple".  If the Oprah show is going to be presenting information to
>women, I respectfully request that the information be accurate, and be
>presented by FACCE's and IBCLC's, not comedians and would-be-comedian writers.
> I have no doubt that "The Girlfriend's Guide..." presents some good
>information and is a funny book, but so much of what the author stated as fact
>is simply not fact at all.
>       In my 25 years of teaching childbirth education classes and breastfeeding
>classes, it is sometimes my experience that those who speak from a very narrow
>field of experience (their own births, period) sometimes forget that no two
>births are alike and no two breastfeeding experiences are alike.  Those of us
>who know what we are doing (IBCLC's and FACCE's) know that the more we know
>the more we realize how much we still have to learn.  I believe you are one of
>those people who knows what you are doing, and is open to learning more.   I
>hope that you'll be open to hearing my opinion that the act of allowing people
>who are trying to entertain or trying to sell books to speak as if they are
>experienced credentialed authorities telling women how IT is (birth and
>breastfeeding) is doing a tremendous disservice.
>         I think the public deserves a show featuring ASPO/Lamaze prepared parents,
>FACCE's, and IBCLC's to speak the facts and present accurate information.
>ASPO/Lamaze, the nation's first and foremost provider of Lamaze Childbirth
>Education Classes, educates more than two million expectant parents each year.
> ASPO certification is considered the mark of excellence in childbirth
>education.  The "top ten" list you presented for entertainment's sake
>trivialized the importance of the role of Lamaze and made me question whether
>some of the speakers had taken classes with ASPO Certified Childbirth
>Educators or with someone who lacked this important educational preparation.
>ASPO's goal is to prepare expectant parents by sharing with them factual
>information on what to expect during labor, delivery and post-partum (which
>can allay the fears they've accrued from misconceptions and horror stories
>they've heard),  to share with them research-based breathing and relaxation
>techniques to make them more comfortable during labor, and to empower
>expectant parents to be active participants in decision-making during their
>births, fully cognizant of their rights as consumers of health care, obstetric
>options, and how to make informed decisions related to birth and parenting.
>The body of research upon which Lamaze is based clearly shows that there are
>both physical and psychological reasons for its success. Lamaze parents, from
>whom I receive eloquent testimonials in their birth announcement calls to me
>each day, attest to the fact that Lamaze works.
>       My sincere thanks for considering my thoughts on the 3/1/96 show.
>
>Sincerely,
>Joyce Blangiardo RN, FACCE, IBCLC              [log in to unmask]
>ASPO/Lamaze National Faculty                   (516) 483-8139
>1233 Webber Avenue
>South Hempstead, NY 11550
>
>
>
>
Kathleen B. Bruce, BSN, IBCLC, LLLeader, co-owner Lactnet, LLLOL, Corgi-L
LACTNET WWW site: http://www.mcs.com/~auerbach/lactation.html
Personal WWW page: http://www.together.net/~kbruce/kbbhome.html