Chris said:

>I have to say that while I personally agree with you, you're not quite on
the mark in terms of LLL philosophy.  Leaders are NOT supposed to "mix
causes," which includes the issue of attachment parenting.>

This is probably one of the biggest pet peeve I have had with LLL groups in
Modesto and the East Bay.   Although I am LLL medical associate, I am very
reluctant to refer single moms, minority moms and working moms to LLL.

Last fall, I had to literally beg the East Bay groups to help an Ethiopian
friend who was having a great difficulty breastfeeding.  All of the leaders
at first told me they were "too busy."  This mom was isolated with no
transportation and somewhat of a language barrier (she did however have a BS
in Health Education from San Francisco State).  Only after I identified
myself as a pediatrician did they agree to make a half hearted attempt to
help her.  My friend only breastfed for one week.  The sad thing is that she
REALLY wanted to breastfeed and could not get enough help.  I was unable to
travel due to my own pregnancy complications.  I did the best I could sending
her videotapes, booklets and daily hour long phone support.

In my own case when I was on bedrest this fall for my high risk pregnancy,
two leaders from the Modesto area came to visit me.  They did far more than
provide breastfeeding information (stuff was more than ten years old,  they
didn't realize that I had very updated material).  They proceeded to tell me
that I MUST stay home with my baby even if it meant selling my home and going
into an apartment, that homeschooling and being a stay at home mom was far
better than being a working mom, that LLL encouraged  the participation of
fathers (my baby's father has been out of the picture since I was 6 week's
pregnant).

Needless to say I was insulted and angry.   I have written to LLL
headquarters to address this. Now if these women had the nerve to say this to
me, imagine what they would say to a poor woman with less education?  I was
not surprised when they told me that they had no working moms or moms of
color attending their meetings.

This experience made it all the more clear to me that I had to become more
involved in supporting lactating families.  As an African American who is
also Bilingual in Spanish, I think I may have the chance to add a little more
cultural sensitivity to this area of work.

Pierrette Mimi Poinsett MD FAAP
Modesto CA