Hi,
>Obviously if a mother chooses to seek advice via e-mail and chooses not to
>follow-up with her LC then what can we do?  But this was a special at-risk
>case which ideally should have received specialist assistance, and didn't.
>One more baby is NOT being breastfed as a result.  I feel frustrated about
>it.  Thanks for listening!
>
Re. my recent post attempting to get help for a mother in Canada with
breastfeeding problems (prolonged nursing strike at 6mo). As I explained
to several of you via private email, the problem was not that she didn't
know any LCs etc., but that she couldn't get passed the hospital
switchboard and was being passed from pillar to post. She told me she
had actually spent the entire morning on the phone without success.

I am sure there are some *excellent* people in her area, if she could
only get passed the petty beuraucrates! When I get a reply from her, I
will post a follow-up. I have every confidence she has found someone to
help her now, as I have forwarded direct phone numbers to her.

The other reason I think is that for some women, approaching
professionals is scary. Maybe they think they will be thought stupid for
not doing the "right" things, or maybe they don't follow previous advice
(like using bottles when they were warned not to) and feel embarassed.
Often, if the problem is really serious, they are afraid they are going
to be told the problem is (a) unfixable and (b) their fault. There is
also the fear of being thought "a bother" to the professional,
especially if the mother lacks confidence.

It's like the mother I know who has relactated. It took weeks before
she'd phone someone, although she spent hours talking to me about it (I
am not yet qualified, so my support was more "mother-to-mother"). I am
sure she was afraid of being put off the idea, or being laughed at, or
being told it was impossible. When she did eventually contact a LLLL,
she was pleasantly surprised the woman was "so nice and didn't think I
was daft at all".

There is some truely attrocious advice on the Internet out there - for
instance, one newsgroup recently had advice from a woman saying,
basically, you don't need to worry about nipple confusion if you nurse
the baby each time before the bottle (some of you may have seen it).
There is considerable misinformation out there, and the quantity of
information means that mothers will tend to keep looking until they
receive the advice they want to hear, rather than accurate advice (for
instance, "supplementing won't affect your supply, and anyone that says
it will is a breastfeeding fanatic"). However, I really don't think this
is any different from the advice women give each other at mother and
toddler groups etc.

For myself, I always strongly encourage, if not nag, women to contact
somebody local (hence my post about the nursing strike). I agree it's
vital, but I have known cases where 20 or so emails have been exchanged
before the woman finally says "I contacted an LC/LLLL/NCT Breastfeeding
Counsellor" and I breathe a sigh of relief. The way I see it, if *I* do
not reply to their emails, somebody else will. I am sure many women have
managed to continue breastfeeding as a direct result of Internet
support. Check out the Parent-L list for one.
--
Anna (mummy to Emma, born 17th Jan 1995 and Alice, born 11th Sept 1996)
Email: [log in to unmask]  Web Page: http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna