Good contribution to the discussion, Pat! And to your summary list, I'd add
one more point:

Breastfeeding really isn't a medical issue, in the individual mother-baby
sense. Yes, it's a huge public health issue, there is a broad sense in which
the medical importance of breastfeeding *is* within the scope of medicine.
I'd like to see the end of the assumption that the day-to-day care and
feeding of a normal, healthy, thriving infant falls within the province of
the "health care professional".

And, above all, this is a situation where "first, do no harm" really
applies. If a physician is knowledgeable and up-to-date and genuinely
supportive of BFing, (a status I automatically apply to doctors on this
list, whether "lurkers" or "frequent flyers") so much the better for the
lucky moms & babies s/he helps care for. If not, or if s/he is not current
in their knowledge, what I want from a doctor is exactly one thing: refer
the pt. to someone who *is* knowledgeable and current and has specific
skills in helping mothers & babies to BF. That would be a lactation
consultant. Or, if they're really lucky, it will be the grandmas, the
sisters, the neighbors who are themselves   experienced in "the womanly
art".

Cathy Bargar RN IBCLC
Ithaca NY

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