Hi All,
The posts on discreet breastfeeding, public nursing,
amount of skin showing (or not showing) all go into the general category
of no matter how much things change they always stay the same, except that
this time, our playing field has been turned away from us due to the influence
of the ABM manufactures (probably the biggest one), the media influence
(also another biggie), hypocrisy, misinformation and no information,
and finally personal choice. Some women, tend to stand firm on their personal
choice (whatever it may be) and fail to see that it should also be allowed
for me - it is my personal choice to be a mother, it is my choice to breastfeed,
it has been my choice not to pursue employment. Choice should include everyone
and their personal choices. HPCs really need to grasp that we are not breastfeeding
'police' nor 'making moms feel guilty.' but simply giving her the information
to make her personal choice. Another thing all (ALL) of us need to
never forget is that any woman who becomes pregnant and delivers a baby
whether that baby is alive, dead or dying and whether she raises it, her
husband raises it, she gives it up for adoption or the baby dies - is a
mother forever. That can and never will change. I must admit that I get
upset at times when the 'past' is swept under the carpet and ignored, as
it may be exactly what is controlling the mother is the situation now being
handled. On that note, we must be careful to get the full details. I ranted
recently about LLL still being seen as hard-line and rigid and found that
a particular situation was not a past situation of this mother nor something
she heard about LLL, but someone who was no longer associated with LLL
who felt that the constraints had been lifted from her and the mother was
perceiving her as LLL. I am sure the same happens in the LC arena too.
On the mission statement, Kim it is great, the only
recommendations I would make is
1) Our goals are to educate Health care
professionals to give appropriate advice to keep mothers nursing
their
babies well into the first year and beyond. Add: after advice
to [help mothers begin] and before keep mothers nursing their babies.
2) To make the general public aware of the life-long advantages the
breast-fed individual enjoys so that all people will encourage rather than
discourage the breastfeeding
mother. Add: after life-long advantages [that the mother, family,
health care system and society] and before the breast-fed baby.
Great work.
Leslie Ward
Vine Grove, KY
"Know that we are eager to share our gifts, in the name of love." Seneca
proverb