FROM: Sturgess, Frances Coulter TO:[log in to unmask] SUBJECT: empowerment vs keeping up numbers DATE: 01-09-97 13:45 EST PRIORITY: --------------------------------------- ------------------------------------ RE: allowing empowerment and keeping up numbers--did i miss something here? Barbara calls this mutually exclusive. How else does anyone teach? You can/t *order* someone to breastfeed--or keep breastfeeing--that i believe would be more mutually exclusive of breastfeeding success/upping the numbers than allowing empowerment...as with many other areas, like nutrition/diets, someone has tobe on the ball in the policy arena, advocacy arena. The one'on-one is essential for each brf mom, but without addtional support on the global/communitcy side, with mediawatch, lactivists, unicef, people writing about brfdg in dept stores to dept mgrs, the one on ones may fade away... I feel very lucky that in my job "the mad dogs of advocacy" are supported (even if laughed at periodically) and that I am allowed to do more than send out "New pamphlets on breastfeeding or nutrition or whatever" but not everyoine is comfortable (or encouraged/paid) to do the Fairs, the letters, the searches....we need that too, so I hope the new WIC job Barbara describes includes some advocacy work... off the soapbox... (Quoted message from Barbara below) Now I have another question for many of us to ponder. I worked, and will soon be working again for WIC. The breastfeeding rates are often abysmal. We were very successful in increasing initiation rates in the last agency where I worked, but not as successful in increasing duration. It is always a delema for me where this is concerned. So my question is: How do we, as LCs for agencies such as WIC, use our supportive, nurturing skills, allowing women to be empowered to make choices, while keeping our numbers up so that we can maintain our programs? Often these things are mutually exclusive. Thanks to all of you who constantly keep my powers of though and reasoning well tuned! Barbara Leshin-Zucker, IBCLC Highland Mills, NY