In a message dated 5/22/99 10:20:38 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
<< When I state concerns about pump sharing and the mom is defensive with
"well,
it's a really good friend." I usual say "well, as long as you know who your
friend's husband sleeps with." Can they be 100% sure that it is not
contaminated with a virus or germs?
>>
Are we normally 100% sure when we have contact with our friends? Do we want
to make pumping -- I'm talking about healthy moms and healthy babies here, or
course -- more like medicine, or more like life?
What I tell moms is (disclaimer: as a lay counselor not a LC or rental
station, I have a lesser responsibility, I know), "As long as you would be
willing to drink out of her glass" or "give your child a drink out of her
glass."
In other words, risky, but in a normal context of friendship and sharing and
eating and drinking.
Are there reasons I am missing why pump sharing is riskier than this?
Because if not we need to think about what our deutero-language -- our tone,
our implications -- tell mothers about the place in their life of providing
milk for their own kids and their friends kids. The risk of contagion is
certainly real -- but usually not scarily great -- and the risk of making
pumps feel like hospital equipment is very great indeed.
Elisheva Urbas
who once at a big wedding brought my Lactina to pump in the bride's room --
and watched a string of desperate moms come in, beg to borrow it, pump,
regretfully dump their milk out of my spare bottles, give it all a rinse, and
then pass the flanges on to the next mom. Five moms who all got a good
lesson that providing milk for your absent babes is a no-brainer for me, and
will be for them next time too.
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
