On Sun, 23 Mar 1997, Laurie Wheeler, RNC, MN, IBCLC wrote:

> < when a HCP gives me some line of hooey about feeding my kid this
>  way or not >>
> How about this reply:
> "Oh, didn't you know that bf is recommended .... or that bf provides....."
> and add "you must have missed that whole lecture series in medical school" or
> "you must have missed that part of your residency" or "you need to catch up
> on the literature."

Sadly, they have not missed that part of the residency or medical school...
'Cause it ain't there. They have not read that part of the litterature,
cause there ain't that much litterature in peer-reviewed, highly
regarded (and heavily funded by pharmaceutical industry) and trusted
journals. Besides, these people spend four long years of their lives to
specialize treating sick kids, and read about the latest illness. So, BF
is best, especially at the beginning, but it does not always work, and
there is nothing we can do about it. That is what I was taught. And no
snappy remarks would have taught me anything more.
My psychotherapist ( and a very good one at that), who once had
threatened that my three years old boy (still nursing) would be socially
handicaped, learned something Monday: when she asked about weaning, I
smiled, said something of the sort "It does not hurt him, he takes great
pleasure in taking the breast, I enjoy that time with him, and it seems
that natural weaning occurs at about five or six." With a happy and
relaxed attitude, I think we can teach a whole lot more to people who
very rarely see kids dying from formula, and do see kids very sick from
badly managed breastfeeding.
Obviously, I do not believe in snappy remarks. I hate receiving them, and
I hate that snappy part of my personality.

 Louise Denhez, M.D., M.P.H
Chargee d'enseignement clinique
Departement de medecine sociale et preventive
Montreal, Quebec, Canada