With my blood pressure up over the co-sleeping legislation, I hesitate to
write a coherent post.  Passions obviously run high about this issue because
it is *related* to breastfeeding and for many of us, it is a component of
breastfeeding.  Like others have already noted, if this needs to be an
issue, then it needs to be about safe sleep environments.  That may be a
crib for one family, an adult bed for another or the floor for another.  If
*I* were told to not fall asleep while nursing in bed, I would probably have
dropped my children onto the floor, but the bigger issue is that nobody has
the right to "strongly encourage" me to not fall asleep while nursing in
bed.  However, another mother, like Michelle, who seems equally passionate
about cribs, should not be told that she must sleep with her breastfeeding
child.

Breastfeeding, sleeping...these are not so much my concern as is the bigger
threat...that of legislating parenting.  I may choose to homebirth,
breastfeed for many years, homeschool, not administer unnecessary vaccines,
eat organic foods when possible, etc.  Another parent may feel equally
responsible to have her babies in a hospital, to breastfeed for a short time
or not at all, send her children to school, vaccinate fully on schedule and
eat processed foods.  Nobody should legislate parenting to either one of us.

When I work with expectant and new parents, I believe it is my role to
support them as they find their own parenting path.  Of course I bring my
biases to the situation, but I have no right to tell them what to do.

Tempering my talk,
Rebecca DeYoung Daniels, MBA, RD, LD, IBCLC and MOM to 5 in KS...across the
state line from MO...who must be off to continue discussing with my children
the freedoms upon which America was built and why the Revolutionary War
occurred <g>.

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