Hi Nikki
The reading I am doing as part of my research is teaching me that motherhood
(and the journey into motherhood) is fraught with moral meanings for women.
Every action they undertake is under scrutiny (if not by others, then by the
women herself) lest she show signs of moral deviance.  That puts many of us
on 'high alert'.  Like soldiers we are constantly ready to defend our
identities against the accusations of immorality (good mothers do what is
best for their babies; breastfeeding is best, mothers who don't breastfeed
are not good mothers and may put themselves at risk of social sanction).
All we as practitioners can do is listen, be gentle (as I can see from your
posts that you go out of your way to do) and retain our own integrity.
Sometimes, mothers will hook their difficult feelings about their decisions
on whomever is in the room when they them.  But hearing negative feedback
should always make us pause toreflect on whether or not we contributed to a
woman's pain.   Occasionally if we retain our integrity, we will have to
answer yes and modify our practices, sometimes, we will see, with the help
of friends and colleagues that the problem is not ours ...
Tough call but important
Nina Berry BA/Bed(Hons) Dip Arts(Phil)
Breastfeeding Counsellor
PhD Candidate - "Ethical Issues in the marketing of 'Toddler Milks'"

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