Hello Lactnetters,
I am a professional labor assistant and childbirth educator in S. FL.  I would
love to see each client making the commitment to BF for at least 2 years.  My
main and first concern, of course is that the client have an informed and
positive (as natural as is safe) birth experience.  Does anyone know of the
ideal time to introduce the 2 yr+ recommendation? (and no solids till 6 mo.,
feed on demand, preferably no supplementing, blah blah etc...) My dilemma is
this: when the subject is introduced during pregnancy, it tends to overwhelm
my client.  I hear statements like "I don't know if I can handle all
this....pregnancy.....natural childbirth...now I have to BF forever!"  Yet, my
fear is that waiting to cover the issue during the postpartum visits may be
too late!  There could already be soreness, fear, engorgement...that w/o
education may lead to supplementation or weaning.  What really surprises me
time after time is that the women aren't already well informed about all of
this when they come to me (as late as 30 weeks!) RARELY have they heard or
read about a 1 year recommendation let alone 2yrs; what are OBGYNs doing about
this? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
frustrated and confused PLA and CBE
Adriana Samargia Kaufman