Hello from frozen Dayton Ohio where we've been snowed/iced in for two days.

As one of the original posters in the "suctioning" thread, I don't feel
slammed. I am not personally offended if someone (or many) doubt what I've
said, disagree, exaggerate, misinterpret or otherwise don't buy my ideas.
That's why I often post the references, citations, and/or rationale behind
what I say. It happens to me a lot. For example, in 1992 when I started
referring to the "advantages of breastfeeding" as "disadvantages of
artificial feeding," I was called a Zealot by the physician in charge of my
consulting contract with the state health department.

BTW, this reaction also happened to the anti-smoking folks and the little
boy who pointed out the truth about the Emperor's New Clothes. It's very
tempting to shoot the messenger when the MESSAGE shakes up the status quo.
If you (the collective "you," not anyone in particular) don't agree with me,
check out some of the references and decide for yourself whether I'm full of
hot air (which would be rather welcome this frigid day) or whether you
(again, the collective "you") need to re-think something. It's taken a long
time for some of these ideas to gel, so I don't expect everyone to instantly
agree with me. Look at the evidence, and make up your own mind. The fact
that my observations/comments creates a ruckus probably means there's some
kernel of truth there that is hard to hear. Or maybe I'm just a crotchety
old woman with nothing better to do with my time than read weird stuff like
breastfeeding and birthing literature.

As for some babies and moms who breastfeed well despite all manner of
insults: it helps me to remember the words of my friend Carl Bromer who is a
VP of sales at a plastics manufacturing company, and teaches sales seminars.
Carl says "The worst enemy of good technique is good luck."

Linda J. Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC
Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre
Dayton, OH USA
http://www.bflrc.com