If we followed the logic of denying care to those who make "unhealthy"
choices, then we should deny care to people who smoke cigarettes, use infant
formula, are obese or anorexic, or drive old, small cars that lack air-bags.
(Like my 1991 Toyota Corolla station wagon with 192,000 miles and 6
breastfeeding bumper-stickers that just died last month). At the risk of
being flamed, this concept is blame-the-victim thinking.

Some behaviors are poor choices for parents to make, whether or not we can
"prove" the dangers. Nobody has ever proved that running with one's
shoelaces tied together will definitely cause knee injuries, yet this is
obviously a dumb idea. There is a large body of information on herbs in
general, including cannabis, that disagrees with current "thinking" on such
substances. (No, I'm not "supporting" pot, nor am I necessarily condemning
it - I'm actually more concerned about the dangers of ANY smoke in the
mother's lungs that what plant or substance that smoke comes from.) Many
things that "we do" now will some day be "proved" to be harmful or
dangerous, or just the opposite - safe and beneficial. Of course I try to
dissuade mothers from smoking cigarettes & pot, drinking a 6-pack of beer
every day, driving without a seatbelt, or eating a diet high in junk food
whether or not I can "prove" the risks of these behaviors. I also try and
warn of the risks of formula and pacifiers!

Mothers generally use good sense when protecting their babies. For example,
when I was growing up, our local Buster Brown shoe store had an X-Ray
machine in the store to check the fit of the shoes. Us kids would stand on
the big green box, push a button, and wiggle our feet - and see the bones in
our feet move through the window on top! We thought this was WAY cool, but
our mothers kept chasing us away from the machine. Moms "knew" what was
safe, even BEFORE real research revealed the dangers of X-Ray exposure. (I
keep wondering when my toes will fall off.)

Our role, IMHO, is to inform, teach, educate and SUPPORT mothers to make the
best possible choices that make sense in their particular context, based on
what real research exists at the time the decisions are being made. All
mothers are doing heroic acts by bearing and raising their children, and
thus deserve our very best and honest support. We ethically support all
mothers, even the mothers who smoke tobacco, pot, or cornsilk; the mothers
who eat fish from waters with high levels of mercury; and the mothers who
drive old small cars without wearing a seatbelt. 

Linda J. Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC
Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre Ltd
6540 Cedarview Ct, Dayton OH 45459
ph 937-438-9458 www.BFLRC.com 

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