Dear all: I hate to differ with Diane Wiessinger on this one, but we are not dealing with one very simple food that a mother may need help with. I would argue that this what happened to breastfeeding is more akin to what happened to basic knowledge about traditional foods and nutrition in Cambodia when the familial structures was almost completely destroyed during the Pol Pot regime. Prior to that huge societal shift, there was a lot of accumulated wisdom regarding traditional foods and recipes. There may have been malnutrition, but not on the scale that ensued during the Pol Pot years. Much of the knowledge of how to prepare, cultivate and/or collect healthy vegetables and herbs was either lost or dispersed amongst a few individuals. This loss has enormous ramifications for nutrition programs. Much of what was known now has to be recreated. Not just one recipe --- but many recipes. Not just one food, but an entire menu of foods that make for a healthy cuisine for an entire culture. We have to recreate from scratch an entire structure that used to exist. La Leche League was reserve and pockets of those who managed to retain some of that knowledge during the dark "Pol Pot" years under fire from hostile forces. Then in Cambodia, there came the emergency refugee nongovernmental organizations. All well meaning, some of these are experienced professionals who are effective, some are adrenaline junkees trying to save the world, some think that just because they are trying to do good work that it is good regardless of the outcome ---- etc. These groups help mitigate starvation --- the worst of the worst of the nutritional effects. I'd say there are similarities here with our present situation of trying to fix the various outcomes of birthing, hospital policies that are not yet in line with normal infant feeding, and a societal structure that has forgotten what normal infant feeding is all about ---- and this is why we are NOT yet anywhere near a situation in which we can expect one mother to simply show another mother how to make the peanut butter sandwich. Or to put it another way --- we may be just barely getting to the point where most of the population isn't dying immediately from malnutrition, but we are a very long way from healthy eating. Our next task is moving beyond fixing the immediate problem and working on developing a solid knowledge in the whole society. I liken this to moving on to programs that facilitate local organizations to work on LONG TERM solutions to malnutrition and that ALWAYS requires a multisectoral or holistic approach and lots of cooperation between organizations to get there. It cannot be achieved without local community participation from the very start in building the structure that will remain and thrive long after the so- called "experts" leave. Best, Susan Burger. *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome