Pam writes:
that positive touching can be taught
and that you don't stop touching.
On the surface, I think most would agree with that statement. Another
poster mentioned, somewhat in passing, that we obtain permission before touching.
I'd like to underscore that point, as I believe it is crucial for the woman
who has sexual trauma in her past.
One of the things that makes the trauma so horrific is the total stripping
of power from the victim. One of the things that helps move a person from
"victim" to "survivor" is to restore the restoration of control in her life.
When we ask permission to touch her breast, hug her, place her baby on her
chest, or whatever, we reinstate power. We also offer respect and confidence in
her power.
When we try to short-circuit that, even with the good intentions of
providing healing touch, the potential to do further damage is real. Not all people
would experience the difficulties of the boy we heard about, but some would.
Remembering that this is the *mother's* experience and not ours, when we
behave in a gentle, respectful manner towards our clients/patients as the vast
majority of lactation specialists have a natural tendency to do, we are at our
best--for them and for us.
Back to lurking,
Nancy Williams, MA, MFT, IBCLC, CCE
***********************************************
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|