Still mulling this one over, after my firm statement that WIC BFing
Coordinator was a good "platform" from which to work. I realized that of
course there is no one "best" answer to this question, because how
effectively anyone works to support/promote/influence re: BFing is dependent
not only on *what* the position is, but at least as much on *who* you are.
It's the match between job and person that really makes the crucial
difference.

For example, the WIC position was ideal for ME, because I really enjoy the
flexible on-the-spot thinking it requires, and (most days, anyway!) I
thrived on the constant all-day every-day contact with people it required.
Works for me because I'm good at constantly shifting gears (one minute a
grad-student family from China, with very little English, the next a 14 year
old from the trailer park, the next  an experienced mother of 5, etc., all
day long - different vocabularies, different concerns, different
generations...). Lots of autonomy (well, I tried not to pay too much
attention to the massive bureaucracies hanging overhead), lots of
independence, and massive opportunity to deal with the least-educated,
least-privileged, least-heard segments of society. But I wouldn't be nearly
as good in a more regimented, uniform environment - at the hospital, I was
pretty constantly in trouble, and consequently probably not as effective as
I could have been. And I'm probably not as effective in private practice as
I was in my WIC job; I definitely feel dulled-out without the constant
hectic change of pace and the wider variety of women and babies I saw at
WIC. Some women are excellent public speakers; I like to teach in small
groups and 1:1, but the idea of lecturing just leaves me cold (not to
mention lacking appropriate underwear and make-up skills!). Some dynamic
writers could have a potentially great influence on women's decisions about
BFing, but they might be utterly helpless at latching a baby on or consoling
a weepy new mom. Some excellent hands-on helpers can hardly put 2 words
together in a sentence, but can help a new mother in a way that makes all
the difference.

Isn't it a good thing there's room for such a wide variety of skills and
approaches? Isn't it lucky we aren't all the same? And it seems to me very
important that as this profession of "lactation consulting" continues to
develop, we leave room for all our differences and not try to trim the mould
too closely. Which is one of the things that makes it a very "womanly"
field, and why it's important that we not struggle to imitate the male model
of "professional".

Cathy Bargar RN, IBCLC Ithaca NY

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