Thank you, Jeanette, for your reminder about the daily realities faced by
many breastfeeding women when they return to work! I am always totally in
awe of both the women who have posted here about returning to very heavy
work schedules and continuing to breastfeed AND the women I've worked with
at WIC who are determined to plow ahead despite working conditions that make
it almost impossible.
"...we should be careful not to "blame the victim" and assume that
mothers that have been unable to maintain the full milk supply, work full
time, etc. etc. were just not dedicated/willing/energetic/or had enough
convition."
Yes, and thanks again! Without in the least diminishing the achievements of
those who have persevered and continued to BF, I think there is danger in
becoming a bit smug about it. It's tempting to think that "well, if I could
do it so can she".
It seems to me that there is a huge bias working against low-income families
that implies that they care less for their babies because they aren't able
to provide the same standard of living (including breastmilk as the
exclusive food in the first few months) that wealthier and perhaps more
educated families do.
We know, for example, that higher-income women are more likely
(statistically speaking) to breastfeed their babies, and to do so for a
longer period of time. We know that human milk is the gold standard against
which all other foods for babies are measured. Can we conclude, therefore,
that poor women are less dedicated to the well-being of their children?
Absolutely not! We can look at the factors that make this so, and can
reasonably conclude that poverty, at least in an industrialized country like
the US, puts lower-income women in a position in which there are more and
higher barriers to overcome to achieve the same goal (successful BFing for
as long as mother & baby desire). And along with more barriers, poor
families frequently have less access to the means for overcoming these
barriers.
Yes, it can be done - we see people doing it all the time! But they're
managing *in spite of* huge negative factors, for the most part. Those who
haven't been able to figure out how to overcome the barriers provided by
many of the conditions Jeanette talks about shouldn't be "dinged" for not
being able to continue to BF for as long as they'd like. They don't love
their babies any less, they may just not have had enough of what they needed
to keep BFing going.
One of the things I fear most in this life is complacence. Complacence or
smugness blocks us off from being able to see the other guy - all we see is
ourselves. I totally love the stories from those who managed to BF while
working full time and managing everything else in their busy lives - I find
them inspiring, and I share them with others who need to hear about what
other women have done. But I think we need to be ever-vigilant against
slipping from that perspective into one that says "well, *I* did it, even
though it was sometimes hard and nothing was handed to me on a silver
platter, so why shouldn't *she* be able to do the same?". It doesn't work
that way - the woman who can't manage to do it does not love her baby any
less or care less for its health and well-being!
Ooops, off my soapbox!
Cathy Bargar RN IBCLC Ithaca NY
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