What made the difference for me?

My mother was a pioneer in her family-1 of 6 sisters who decided to
breastfeed in the fifties.  She and my dad took many films of my brother and
I nursing.  So I always thought of nursing as the norm.

During the Black Power Movement (my parents are civil rights activists and
cultural nationalists), I saw many sisters nursing their babies.  They saw it
as a natural right and empowering.

I spent a year between 2nd and 3rd year of medical school as a nutrition
fellow studying infant feeding plans in a teen mother-grandmother cohort.
This was in the early eighties.

However the most powerful message to me was my neonatology attending, Dr.
Diana Woo (at University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine) carrying her
baby in a sling during patients rounds and breastfeeding. Whenever a mother
said she could not nurse, Dr. Woo provided active encouragement. Dr. Woo
passed away several years ago (breast cancer was the cause).  She was one of
the highlights of my medical school experience.

Pierrette Mimi Poinsett, MD FAAP
Modesto CA

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