Naomi said :

"My question is, what other areas are they also ignorant about? How much
can one rely on information they give about topics we don't know about
when they are so ill informed about such a basic area of child health
that we do know something about?"

At the LLLI Physician's conference in July, Mary Ann O'Hara,
MD,MPH,Mst,FABM reported on a study she did with pediatricians.  She
found that although they told her they did not have evidence based
information about breastfeeding or infant sleep inducing practices, they
felt comfortable giving advice about how parents should get their babies
to sleep and considered them "lazy, foolish, selfish" if they did not
follow the advice.  However, they were hesitant to offer advice about
breastfeeding because they considered that to be a lifestyle choice, and
not one they should be interfering with.  

I don't know if she has published this study, as she has been on
maternity leave. I don't expect physicians to be experts in every area,
but I expect them to tell me when they don't know about that topic, not
to advise me on it anyhow! (And yes, I agree breastfeeding would seem to
be something peds, ob/gyns and family practice physicians would consider
within the scope of their practice, but they are not given information
about it, for the most part, in medical school.)

Lucy Towbin, MSW, LCSW, IBCLC

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