I am a birth and postpartum doula trainer who encourages all of her
trainees to join lactnet. The information we get here is invaluable. I
wanted to tell all of you that one of the things I enjoy most about
lactnet is that you are willing to have thoughtful, civilized
discussions regarding hard topics. I am impressed that those who post on
this list usually show great respect to one another and ideas different
than their own. You have set a high standard and I applaud this list's
moderators for making this so.

There should be nothing related to breastfeeding that the wise women of
this list cannot discuss. I don't always agree with someone's point of
view but I fully respect each individual's willingness to help me see
her thought process. I also like that what is said is backed with
evidence whenever possible (since not everything has evidence).

There are two things I wanted to address regarding the discussion of
birth practices related to breastfeeding:

1...the immediate need to help a family whose baby is having difficulty
breastfeeding
2...knowledge about and understanding of the ways that birthing
practices affect bf overall

I think no one would argue that the family in immediate need should not
have those needs met right away. The professional helping that family
would be wrong to go through all the reasons with the family as to why
it wasn't working at this point...what happened to cause the issue. Of
course, the goal would be to help the current issue. I don't think
anyone has stated otherwise.

However, those who work w/these families are remiss if they do not (if
for no other reason than the benefit of their own knowledge) look at
what happened upstream that may have a relationship to what is happening
downstream. If we do not think about these things, who will? This is not
finger-pointing or placing blame. It is looking at the issues head on
and deciding that it is important to be able to look at all factors that
might have an influence.

Yes, there are tons of things that affect a mom's feelings about
breastfeeding and physically can affect what is happening for her in the
postpartum period. We need to recognize all of that. And birth practices
are a part of that package--like it or not. They do affect not only
breastfeeding but postpartum in physical and emotional ways that will
last a lifetime---for good or for bad.

I also want to thank those of you who have been gracious to those
post-ers who are not RN's. It is very gratifying to be able to learn
from each of you and to see an honest exchange of ideas rather than
seeing people brow-beaten because they are not nurses. It truly makes a
difference when we hear one another. And each person, regardless of her
credentials, has the ability to teach us much.

Lastly, I wanted to share a quote with you. You may have seen it before
but I think it's a keeper. I realize that we do not live in a
breastfeeding utopia, however, there is a reason we dream of change.
Please accept the following in the positive spirit that it was
intended:
"Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The trouble-makers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones wo see things differently.
They're not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status-quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
But the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the
world are the ones who do"---STEVE JOBS

thank you all,
ann grauer

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