I have to admit that one reason (among several including the birth of
another child) that I retired after 6 years of being a LLLL (2 as APL and 2
as the Research Review Committee coordinator) was EXACTLY because of the
timidness of LLLI regarding formula's negative impacts on health, the
environment, economy, etc. I have always loved the ILCA statement on the
HAZARDS OF INFANT FORMULA and promote it actively, but found that as a LLLL
I could not openly do this. Yes, it is true that some mothers will walk out
when formula is "bashed" (honestly, it's not bashing if it's TRUE), but
again...will we cater to the emotional states those who refuse to put their
infants in car seats because we are afraid of violating their sensibilities?
I sure hope not. It is unfortunate that many moms have devastating first
time bf experiences, but we need to find a way to stop walking around on egg
shells without crushing those who made an honest try.
I met a woman last week who I helped over a distance of 1000 miles 10 months
ago. She was the neighbor of my SIL and couldn't find anyone to help her
locally (in the middle of "no-where"), so I did an initial consult by phone
for free. She finally was hooked up with a semi-local LC and didn't call me
back after we'd spoken for about 3 hours one time. I just met her and she
burst into tears thanking me (although I feel like I could have done so much
more had she returned my f/u call). As it turns out, she's been pumping for
11 months and giving a bottle. In reference to formula and telling me how
she answers those who question why she does this, she said that there was no
way she'd put that "poison into her baby." This mom has exceptionally
sensitive skin and a tongue tied baby (which I couldn't tell over the phone
by her description). After speaking with her at length, she went and tried
some of the "back to the breast" techniques I've taught and posted on.
Guess what? It worked and they had a very emotional re-bonding bf exp.
(She hadn't tried latching him in 8 months and hated the nipple shield (and
noticed a major decrease in milk supply).) Now, all I keep thinking about
was, "why didn't I call this mom one more time?" Because I didn't want to
bother her and I was afraid to make her feel guilty in case she had quit
(yup--even I fell for this one).
-- Chris Hafner-Eaton, PhD, MPH, CHES, IBCLC [log in to unmask]
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