Anybody who is attending a conference has paid to be there, whether
they are a professional or not.  What kind of a message does it send
out to tell women that it is wonderful that they are pumping and
they are welcome to attend conferences because they have left their
babies at home but if they are just breastfeeding on demand and have
a young baby who is not happy except in their arms that they are not
welcome.  In my opinion, this is part of the bigger picture of
making breastfeeding a normal mainstream thing to do, something
mothers can do everywhere they may be. I attended the LLLI
conference this summer and in all the sessions I was in, mothers left
the room if their baby got too loud. I had my 6 month old with me.  I
travelled quite a distance and the overall cost was so high that
it was not possible for me to bring my husband or anybody else with me.
There was no way that my 6 month old was going to spend time in the
hallway with a teenager that she had never met before. My experience
is that onsite daycare will be of no use to babies and even toddlers
that are used to being with their mother all the time.  Why should
women have to wait until their kids are older to attend conferences?
I am 38 years old and have been breastfeeding for 13 years.  I do not
accept that I have to drop out of the world except for playgroups for
20 years.  The women who attend conferences with babies are there
because they have a keen interest in the subject matter.  They may be
the LCs of the future.  I don't think that toddler rooms necessarily
need to be provided, I  just feel that we need to be tolerant of a
certain amount of noise at conferences, especially ones that pertain
to lactation or other subjects that are specifically pertinent to
women or children.  I must add that I had a very positive experience
at the LLLI conference, even at CERP sessions, everybody was very
tolerant of my daughter.
Susanna Eve


fulltime homeschooling mom to 4 big boys and one little girl
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Canadian Homeschool Resource Page
http://www.flora.org/homeschool-ca/
NS Voice of Women For Peace
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/CommunitySupport/VOW/vow.html