I've been a midwife for a short generation, 20 years.  I used to be midwife
to my friends.  Now I am midwife to friends of my children, and the children
of my friends and maybe if I am lucky, I will be midwife to my own children
one day.  I have not changed my language in that time, except to emphasize
more and more strongly and clearly with each passing year, how important it
is that we connect with our children. 
The woman whose letter resulted in me getting the midwife of the year award
*last month* was born the same year as my daughter.  Nearly all the families
who were able to attend the luncheon at which I received the award, were the
ages of my children.  I haven't found that they speak a different language,
so I must conclude that I am already speaking the language of the generation.  
So, dare to be the one voice they may hear, speaking a language that spans
generations, that says 'listen to your heart, trust your baby, save your
money for something you really need, and don't invest in a lot of expensive
paraphernalia for removing milk from your breasts and putting it into the
baby unless that is the only way your baby is able to get your milk.'
Of course women who are apart from their very young babies for whatever
reason, need ways to remove milk and store it and feed the baby when they
are apart.  What they need even more, in my very very arrogant opinion, is
societal recognition of the public health work they are doing when they
breastfeed, in the form of paid leave for long enough to get BF established,
and then paid breaks to either feed the baby at their workplace, or to
express milk to feed the baby with next time they are apart. I object to the
way Medela advises women to buy things they shouldn't need in the first
couple of weeks, without a disclaimer: 'If you give birth in hospital, you
are unlikely to need your own personal pump before you come home.'  And I
object to the point of rabidity to their bizarre reluctance to show mothers
and children breastfeeding when they are in fact together.
Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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