I am wondering exactly what it means to be part of the healthcare
team. Yesterday, a friend of mine who is currently nursing her
newborn (5th bf baby) told me that she is so terribly discouraged
with the healthcare system in the US b/c it is not in any way about
prevention and if a doctor knows nothing about nutrition,
breastfeeding or holistic practices, then he has nothing to offer in
terms of "health" care and can only offer "disease" care. We have
always argued that language is very powerful. When a doctor asks a
mom if she will "breast or bottle-feed", for example, the implication
is that they are equal. The friend I have mentioned above saw a
resident with her baby this week and was asked "So, you're not giving
any formula?" She said it made her feel as if the doctor assumed
that she would be and thereby implied that she should be doing so.
She said if she was a new mom, it would have been very confusing to her.
I have really thought about this in terms of our current SOP/Code of
Ethics situation. Undisturbed birth, feeding at the breast,
attachment, nutrition and exercise are the physiologic foundations of
human health. Midwives, IBCLCs and most holistic practitioners
generally understand this, so I want to know why we are jumping into
the allopathic community when the foundation of our understanding and
practice is prevention and holism? Why are there no members of the
holistic community on the IBLCE Board? Which team do we want to play
on and why?
The language in our SOP makes it very clear that we are advocates of
the western medical model. The language defines this as the standard
of care for everyone. Yet, when I was in China, massage, acupuncture
and TCM were the standards of care. In my family (and among my
community of friends), midwifery and homeopathy are the standard of
care. I am sure that many others have similar experiences. It is just
not okay with me that IBCLCs do not have the freedom to practice
holistically, in culturally respectful and a truly ethical way.
Just because we have lop-sided the practice with allopathic
practitioners does not mean, as has been implied, that the minority
have no right to a voice, nor to help define the practice model (nor
I am even convinced that we are the minority worldwide). I am at a
loss as to exactly how we got to such a dismal place, but I am very
willing to be a part of something completely different, a model that
remembers the nature of babies and that feeding at the breast is
inherently normal behavior and preventive care, not the domain of
disease-based medicine. I have considered this very seriously and
yes, I do want to be part of a "health care team", but one that is
defined by the motives and skills of the practitioners, not the
initials after their names.
Jennifer Tow
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