FROM: Sturgess, Frances Coulter
TO:[log in to unmask]
SUBJECT: empowerment vs keeping up numbers
DATE: 01-09-97   13:45 EST
PRIORITY:



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RE: allowing empowerment and keeping up numbers--did i miss something here?
Barbara calls this mutually exclusive.  How else does anyone teach?  You
can/t
*order* someone to breastfeed--or keep breastfeeing--that i believe would be
more mutually exclusive of breastfeeding success/upping the numbers than
allowing empowerment...as with many other areas, like nutrition/diets,
someone
has tobe  on the ball in the policy arena, advocacy arena.  The one'on-one is
essential for each brf mom, but without addtional support on the
global/communitcy side, with mediawatch, lactivists, unicef, people writing
about brfdg in dept stores to dept mgrs, the one on ones may fade away...

I feel very lucky that in my job "the mad dogs of advocacy" are supported
(even if laughed at periodically) and that I am allowed to do more than send
out "New pamphlets on breastfeeding or nutrition or whatever" but not
everyoine is comfortable (or encouraged/paid) to do the Fairs, the letters,
the searches....we need that too, so I hope the new WIC job Barbara describes
includes some advocacy work...
off the soapbox...

(Quoted message from Barbara below)
Now I have another question for many of us to ponder.  I worked, and will
soon be working again for WIC.  The breastfeeding rates are often abysmal.
We were very successful in increasing initiation rates in the last agency
where I worked, but not as successful in increasing duration.  It is always a
delema for me where this is concerned.

So my question is:  How do we, as LCs for agencies such as WIC, use our
supportive, nurturing skills, allowing women to be empowered to make choices,
while keeping our numbers up so that we can maintain our programs?  Often
these things are mutually exclusive.

Thanks to all of you who constantly keep my powers of though and reasoning
well tuned!

Barbara Leshin-Zucker, IBCLC
Highland Mills, NY