I would like to say "hear, hear" to BW-C's comments about the exhibitors at the conference.  I was at the conference (my first, since I was a poor, working, single mom for several years and a poor, married, stay-at-home mom for years before that!  Now, remarried, working, with mostly grown children,
thank you!  ;-) )    I appreciated seeing some of the products I had only heard about before.  I have started looking at these products at stores, so I'll know what mothers are talking about.  It is great to be able to see how some of these things work at the exhibits, so you'll at least know the
product.  I believe it's important to know this info, since moms are getting bombarded with this stuff and are purchasing it.  For instance, our local ILCA affiliate had a meeting where Medela sponsored a speaker who talked about pump technology.  Afterwards, there was a hands-on session with many
different types of pumps.  We got pressure gauges so we could compare and had worksheets where we could write down pros and cons for each type of pump.  I have gotten many calls from women having trouble pumping with the Evenflo pump, one I wouldn't recommend of course, but they didn't ask me first.
After the session, I could understand why they were having problems!  I suppose I am not as restrictive as some would be but I was pleased to get the chance to learn about these pumps firsthand.  That was quite valuable to me!  For myself, I take the knowledge from these experiences and apply it to
my skills toolbox.  I think we all have the ability to boycott just as we do in product buying.  Noone was forced to take anything from any booth, but each had products that moms might be using, so it can be helpful knowing more about them.  I took the exhibits in that spirit anyway.  Is it much
different for ILCA to accept money from an exhibitor whose wares we may wish mothers didn't use than for us to support Gary Ezzo by paying to buy his book so that we can know what's in it?  In a perfect world, mothers wouldn't use anything but breasts to feed their babies with, but in this real
world, they use lots of other things  We need to know what they are, IMHO.  At least this way, we didn't have to buy them to find out about them.  I will say that I was surprised at some of the comments and questions that were offered at the end of many sessions.  I felt almost sorry for some of the
speakers, who all but got flamed for offering their research.  Peter Hartmann and his team come to mind, though there were others.  He handled it well, but, folks, these people are on OUR side.  They are doing work that noone else is doing and they don't deserve to be hauled over the coals because
everything isn't cut and dried  or even KNOWN yet!  They deserve our respect and support for groundbreaking research or information.  What they got was, why aren't you doing more and you should be doing this better.  I, for one, was embarrasse, but maybe I'm just sensitive.

As for sessions, I attended Marsha Walker and BW-C's session, which was very good.  Even though it was for less experienced lactation consultant's, I hadn't heard either of them speak before, so I attended and, yes, I did learn a few things!  The one on sensory defensiveness was also intriguing and
it will be interesting to see where this goes in the next few years.  I heard that one physician who attended the session thought this info was "whiffy", but it sure explains some things we see that are, as yet, unexplainable!  I was also concerned that we seem to have gone to the extreme that
everything must be proven by research for us to use it, when we don't have all that research yet.  Do we not try something, just because it hasn't been proven by research yet?  (I am talking about those interventions that wouldn't, in and of themselves, be harmful to try.)  I am a huge advocate of
research, but really, should we go to that extreme?  I believe in the "can't hurt, might help" philosophy and I think it has some value, if only in that parents *think* it helps!

Sorry to go on and on especially since I have only just started getting Lactnet again since returning so I haven't read all the posts about the conference yet, but I really was struck by how demanding we are as a group.  Perhaps my mother raised me to be too polite?!  Please, no flames.  I've heard
them all!  ;-)

Marsha Glass RN, BSN, IBCLC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mothers have as powerful an influence over the welfare of future generations as all other earthly causes combined.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~John S. C. Abbot~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




             ***********************************************
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