At 8:27 PM -0500 30/12/07, LACTNET automatic digest system wrote:
>Your post was very difficult to read. I was a victim of the sick care
>industry. I empathize with many of these women because I have walked in
>their shoes. When you are told, from the time you are born, that the people
>in the white coats have all the answers and they can heal you and their word
>is final, it is very, very difficult... indeed nearly impossible... to think
>otherwise. How can people with no medical background know better than some
>people in white coats who've gone to school specifically for medicine?
<edited>
Hi Christina,
Thank you for your thoughtful post. I can relate to this as well, and
agree with everything you wrote. I also wish I could have my babies
again with the knowledge I have now!
I find myself trying to explain 'truths' to mothers when counselling
as an Australian Breastfeeding Association counsellor ('how could a
*lay counsellor* know more than a doctor or nurse-midwife????') as
well as when acting as an LC.
I try to explain that doctors, even paediatricians, receive little
training in breastfeeding, so it is understandable that they don't
know a lot about it. I say that there is just *so* much for them to
learn about diseases and disorders and how to treat these (and how
valuable they are when we or our children have medical problems, etc
etc), but breastfeeding is neither a disease nor a disorder.
Similarly, I mention that hospital midwives have to know lots about
pregnancy and delivery, and do learn about breastfeeding, but
basically only the 'normal' course, and usually only have experience
with the early days. They are not trained in managing complex
difficulties - this is where lactation consultants come in. (Some
midwives are also IBCLCs, so that has helped.) Even child health
nurses in Australia, who are also midwives, know lots about
monitoring normal child growth and development up to school age, and
when to refer parents to other health professionals. However, they
also don't usually know much about complex breastfeeding problems,
unless they have sought extra education and become IBCLC as well.
Here, many have done just that, and are wonderful resources for mums
to get free expert help. (BTW, as an aside, this, in addition to
hospital LC clinics, has virtually killed private practice for many
LCs out in the community, as they have to charge fees, and therefore
encouraged some of us to branch out into other related areas - or to
train as midwives.)
--
******************************************************************
Joy Anderson B.Sc.(Zoology) Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. B.Sc.(Nutrition) IBCLC
Australian Breastfeeding Association counsellor
Perth, Western Australia. mailto:[log in to unmask]
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