>
>
>I speak with women all day who are either preparing to go back to work or
>are already there. The vast majority of these women have to work to help
>pay the bills. They are not living in mansions and driving BMW's but just
>trying to survive in their modest homes. Certainly in our current economic
>climate, with layoffs and many companies outsourcing overseas, the burden
>of survival has to be shared with our mates.
>
I think that mothers who make different choices than we do challenge us
to be more respectful, more empathetic, more knowledgeable and
understanding, less judgmental than those who feel the same way we do
*and* live in similar conditions to ours. So many mothers are coping
with a set of experiences we haven't had -- a background of abuse or
neglect, a dismally low sense of self-worth, isolation from family and
friends, or "simply" a husband who can't or won't work at a well-paying
job.  Moreover, those who choose to work because it is important to
contribute to society, to their family's well-being, to be equal
partners in their marriage, and so on ... they aren't so different from
most Lactnetters, are they? Most of them are trying hard to keep all the
balls -- their family's needs, obligations to their employer, financial
responsibilities, decent child-care, caregiving to elderly parents,
their own physical and emotional health -- up in the air, all the time,
and still put family first. It isn't easy.
It's so important to remember there is not just one right way to do
anything, and that you can breastfeed *and* do anything.
Jo-Anne Elder-Gomes, PhD, IBCLC

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