There is nothing like insomnia in the middle of the night, and Lactnet to
keep you busy...
I see what I perceive as a cultural thing here in Israel with the people I
am working with.  They are obsessed with gadgets, will not BF without
taking thousands of drops, powders, and things to increase milk, they
routinely wear breastshells (not ones with ventilation holes- and what
potential disaster this is... then they wonder why they can't latch on
their babies- because they have swollen their nipples to the size of
oranges!)  it is enough to drive you bananas.  I always repeat over and
over that they key ingredients to successful breastfeeding are 1- knowing
you can do it 2- a baby  3- a breast.  I agree that all the gadgets
undermine the self confidence and make mothers believe their bodies can't
do it naturally.  On the other hand, I agree with Esther that here
especially it is crucial for someone who knows what she is doing to be
selling the stuff in order to give correct information and not sell
inferior products.  I think at least here, pumps fall into a totally
different category.  I do sell pumps, and I see that I am doing a service
to the mother by giving her a good product and adding self confidence and
proper information to what might be a potentially overwhelming thought for
a mother.  I also used to have bras available, not that I would peddle, but
sometimes I would walk into a room and see a woman who insists on wearing
her old underwire bra on day four, not just her old bra, but the one from 5
years before when she was anyways one size smaller, and you just know how
miserable she will be if she sleeps the night in that situation, so by
selling her a properly fitting bra I do feel it is a service to her.  It is
a very tough issue, and I think it is an extremely fine line between
peddling or pimping as you say, and offering a better product with at least
true information so save the mother from a worse piece of equipment that
she insists on anyway.
What happened to everyones self confidence- I sometimes want to kick myself
when I speak to mothers.  I think most of them believe that G-d has hoarded
the milk in heaven and gives it only to the one in a million "special one".
Now it is really bedtime.
Jessica Billowitz
Beit Shemesh, Israel

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