I was struck once again by a personal situation that reminded me of the
dilemma that moms must go through when their personal culture (family,
friends, religious teachings, etc) do not support breastfeeding.

My example:  In my heart I'd love to have a homebirth.  But, in *my* world,
it is not considered normal.  Heck, I've had a hard enough time convincing
my family that a Certified Nurse Midwife is competent to deliver a baby!
So I've come to a compromise that works for me (and my husband) -
natural birth in a hospital - that is my comfort level at this point in time.

How this relates to breastfeeding?  We don't live in the other mom's
shoes.  She may be making breastfeeding decisions that seem unusual
or wrong to us.  But, she is working within *her* culture.  If we have
given her breastfeeding info/advice, we have done all that we can.  She
then can put together the breastfeeding info along with *her* culture to
come to plan that works for her.  She is the one who has to live with her
decision.  If it is an *informed* decision, then she has done the best that
she can.  Later she may have regrets, or with her next child she may
make different decisions, but she is doing what she can at that point in
time.

We all live in very different, *individual* worlds.  It's easy to forget that.

Another soapbox (or just hormones)?
Debi VanderMey Barr
Portland, Oregon