Jeannette-- You wrote you were starting a bf support group and that you
thought perhaps >my endless telephone calls may be reduced by running a
weekly group.
>Is that realistic or not?
I think it's realistic because peer support groups give women so much
strength because they know they're not alone. The women tend to start to
turn to one another, or even just work through difficulties themselves, when
they realize they aren't the only ones with doubts or problems. So, with a
little luck, your hand-holding type calls will decrease over time.

When the LC certification program was announced (back in the early 80s) and
for a number of years afterwards, there were LLL Leaders who wondered
whether what they did would become unnecessary. Since I wear both hats--I'm
an active Leader and an LC--I've come to appreciate just how very crucial
peer support groups are for bf success. I can work with a mother one-to-one,
as an LC, and get some things worked through, maybe even the immediate
problem solved, but I can never give her the kind of wonderful feeling that
comes from being involved with a group of others involved in the same
activities/struggles (motherhood and breastfeeding, in this case).

I know that if I got cancer, I could get good clinical stuff, and maybe even
some empathy and practical ideas from an oncologist, but what I'd REALLY
want, along with that, is contact with others who have lived with cancer.
I'm sold on support groups because I've seen how tremendously empowering
they can be through my work with LLL. They're not for everyone, and every
support group doesn't meet the needs of every woman (in fact, having thought
about the Stages of Change that I posted about awhile ago, support groups
full of gung-ho people probably don't meet the needs of those in
Precontemplation and Contemplation), but for the ones who are ready (in
Preparation, Action, or Maintenance, in the theory's terms), they do a
fabulous job.

Good luck getting your group started. Hope it goes really well.
Leslie Ayre-Jaschke
Peace River, Alberta, Canada