Jennifer,
Sorry to hear about your experiences.  Like any other profession, there
are more competent and less competent LC's.  Beyond competence, another
important issue is the dynamics between 2 people.  What one person heard
is not necessarily what the other person said, and vice versa.  I have
learned this when mothers complain to me about their health care provider
and I check with the provider to clarify the advice given and find there
has often been miscommunication.  Your point is well taken that mothers
need support rather than condemnation, no one is going to flame you off
the list for that.  LC's who are struggling to be the best they can also
need feedback, you might encourage the mothers who feel hurt to talk to
the LC's and give some constructive criticism.  Constructive means clear
examples of what was helpful and unhelpful, and suggestions for future
improvements.  While it is not fair to judge any practitioner from one
person's experience, it's another story when the feedback is consistently
negative.
        Some mother's feel very betrayed when an LC cannot solve their
problem, and project all their negative feelings about their situation on
the LC.  Others do not really want to breastfeed and seek out an LC so
they can tell themselves they "tried everything."
        To top it all off, LC's are human beings, and as such are
imperfect.  No one says or does the correct/sensitive/kind thing all the
time.  But hopefully, you can see from Lactnet that most of us really do
try.
--
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  NYC  [log in to unmask]