Kathy wrote: "I thought of LLL as a bunch of fanatics. If I had the term breast feeding Nazi, I don't think I would have used it, but it certainly speaks to the fanatacism I mistakenly believed was present. I think that in order to break through myth and misinformation requires stregnth and determination which can easily be mistaken for lunacy by the ill-informed." ~~ Well back in the 80s as a LLLLeader, we were all making statements, some of which we had to revise... remember blow drying for all sore nipples? :) We are all probably revising our approaches all the time. Still, the whole fanatic thing can be painful. I remember two instances where people referred to me as a fanatic or breastfeeding Nazi, not knowing they were standing next to me in the Park while making these judgments. Sadly, in both instances, they were upset not because I had talked to them directly, but because of what someone else told them I said, and their interpretation of my remarks was "fanatic." In one instance I was helping a mom who had to wean within days due to a sudden diagnosis of cancer and imminent treatment. We talked a long while about how sad she was, what breastfeeding had meant to her, and I mentioned that if she wanted, there was a chance she could keep some milk supply going and go back after the chemo was over. Her friend took this to mean I was "pushing" the mother to keep up breastfeeding. Most of us work very hard to speak the truth in love, and then let the mother make her decision. But anytime we are in the position of providing information or support she may not get anywhere else, we are in a vulnerable place. Thanks for your email, Kathy, reminding us what we are doing and saying may be taken as being "out there" at this point in history ( like the MD who told a client today that her baby's tongue-tie, slow weight gain and interminable nursings have nothing to do with each other and I quote:" the tongue has nothing to do with breastfeeding", this from a pediatric ENT/oral surgeon... I will maintain my lunacy in support of mothers and babies...:) Peace, Judy, very happy her 19yr old son gave his Effective Speaking talk on Breastfeeding and was well-received...:) Judy LeVan Fram, PT, IBCLC, LLLL, Brooklyn, NY, USA *********************************************** 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(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html