Thanks, Anne, for your support. It's funny, but even though I'm
geographically isolated (nearest LC for many years was 500 km (300 miles)
away) I've always felt very connected with the breastfeeding community, both
through LLL and through ILCA and the Canadian Lactation Consultant
Association. I've been online for nearly four years (CompuServe) and enjoyed
the contact with other LCs and Leaders on there (Pat Drazin and Cathy Genna
both were wonderful resources and online friends and I'm delighted they are
both here) but this list is a lot better, for the reasons I mentioned in a
previous post addressing whether we are "professional" or not. I love the
camraderie.

 I agree strongly with your comments about not creating barriers--I think
the greatest thing about the LC profession is that it has helped immensely
to break down the barriers between LLL Leaders and others working in the
field (nurses, especially). We all realized, once we started meeting one
another and actually talking TO each other, that each had expertise and that
we could learn from one another. There seems to be an open-mindedness within
this profession that isn't as noticeable in others, because we have come
into it from such diverse backgrounds. There's a lot of creative thinking
going on because of these different backgrounds--if everyone receives the
same training there is less potential for this.

Leslie Ayre-Jaschke, BEd, IBCLC
Peace River Breastfeeding Clinic
Peace River Alberta, Canada