<I now tell parents something like this---"In the past as educators, we
spoke of the advantages of bf, b/c we did not have enough research to
speak
accurately of the risks of artificial feeding. We saw breastfeeding as a
choice which offered some benefits over A/F. We now know that A/F
presents so
many risks to babies and their mothers that the AAP has written new
guidelines, hospitals throughout the world have undertaken an initiative
to
become "Baby-Friendly", and educators have come to believe it is the
right of
parents to be informed of these risks. It may be difficult to hear this
new
information, especially as so many of us were A/F and perhaps even most
of
our friends' babies have been A/F, but you cannot possibly make the best
choice for your own families w/o awareness of these facts."
    I also tell women straight out that they are not likely to succeed at
bf
if their goal is simply to try to breastfeed. If the goal is to try, they
will likely accomplish that goal--they will try. I tell them the goal
must be
to breastfeed--that for most women, bf is successful when it becomes an
integral part of their identity as a mother.
    I also strongly promote labor support to mothers having hospital
births.
I explain that when you want to teach a child not to color on the table,
you
cannot tell them "don't color on the table". You need to tell them what
they
can do instead, such as "Color on this paper". It is the same with
birth--you
can want to avoid drugs, but if you have no one to offer you anything
else,
you will likely use drugs, just as the child who is not offered paper
will
likely continue to use his crayons on the table.
    This may not at all be the best approach, but for me in my life, it
is
the one I can live with.>

Excellent post, Jennifer.

Jean
***************
K. Jean Cotterman RNC, IBCLC
Dayton, Ohio USA
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