I am not about to excuse in any way those peds who choose to be
ignorant, but we need to remember that there is another doctor
standing there at the moment of birth, just as the baby is prepared
to feed. Midwives who practice the midwifery model of care consider
it a part of their practice and protocol to be sure that the baby is
feeding--they consider feeding to be the final stage of birth, as it
rightfully is. Ob's are not generally advocates for breastfeeding--
they do not ensure proper education, nor do they make it their
responsibility to assure that successful feeding happens. If they did
address this issue, they would surely have to face the implications
that their own practices have in the failure of so many babies to feed.
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA
http://healinghumanpotential.blogspot.com/
>
> Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:09:31 -0500
> From: Liz Cammin <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: doctors' education
>
> Diane Wiessinger wrote:
>> "I think it is important to remember that most docs are doing the
>> best they can with the education they have."
>>
>> Are they really? Would we cut them this much slack if they were
>> handing out antacids to everyone with chest pain? Even if babies
>> breastfeed only to the AAP minimum of a year, those 10-or-so
>> visits represent about a third of all the well visits that child
>> will have with a pediatrician. For them to *decide* to remain
>> ignorant rather than *deciding* to set out and learn something
>> about such a key piece of pediatrics is scandalous. When
>> information is available, ignorance is a choice, not a genetic
>> condition.
>>
>> Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC Ithaca, NY USA, who went to bed
>> after writing this last night, before she got any crankier
>> www.wiessinger.baka.com
>>
>> ***********************************************
>>
> Diane, I totally agree with you. How doctors get out of medical
> school
> not understanding something as basic as "breastfeeding follows
> birth" -
> breastfeeding is the NORMAL course of things once a baby is born - I
> think that's very, very sad indeed. I am sure they are taught
> about how
> the digestive system NORMALLY functions, how the cardiovascular system
> NORMALLY functions, how the nervous system NORMALLY functions.
>
> I like what one of the previous posters said about how she teaches
> that
> breastfeeding is not better, it's NORMAL. And that there are no
> advantages to breastfeeding, only disadvantages to NOT
> breastfeeding! I
> am sure that any doctor can list the disadvantages of not eating
> mostly
> healthy foods, or not exercising, etc. But something as basic as
> "breastfeeding follows birth"? What's the problem here?
>
> I would love to, someday, give lectures to doctors, residents or
> medical
> students. Someday when all my little ones are grown and I have more
> time to think!! I'd love to be a part of changing this...
>
> (Sorry I'm kinda cranky too, had a migraine last night and I'm 37
> weeks
> pregnant...)
>
> Liz Cammin, RN
>
> ***********************************************
***********************************************
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