.  I would personally would try to provide lots of
> information and encouragement to at least breastfeed in the hospital
> (and hope the kiddo gets her hooked (or unhooked?) on nursing).  The
> simple shift from presenting it as either/or to a yes/no choice can
> be a first step toward changing the whole paradigm for those who are
> very resistive to big changes.
>
> Winnie

I still remember the mother who asked me to be her labour support person at
the last minute when her husband was out of town and she went into labour.
She had decided not to breastfeed and made it quite clear to everyone - and
labour didn't seem the time to discuss it!

Well, when the baby was born, the doctor lifted her up to her mother's
abdomen and then commented "look, she's moving towards your breast - I think
she wants to breastfeed." He proceeded to help the mother position the baby
and the baby (a brilliant little child!) latched on perfectly and nursed
away. The doctor heaped praise on baby and mother, and I could see they were
just falling in love. That mother - who had been adamantly against
breastfeeding - nursed for more than six months.

I was impressed by that doctor's matter-of-fact handling of the situation -
he really made it seem as though it was the baby's decision, and the mother
was awash in that just-given-birth glow so she was ready to accept her baby
a the breast. I sometimes wish more doctors and nurses would do this. I
guess some mothers would react negatively but I'll bet that many would find
it "clicks" and feels right once they start.

Teresa Pitman
Guelph, Ontario

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html