On Mon, 24 Nov 1997, you asked:

> Can't these women file papers or answer the telephone or mop the
floors, or
> something?  Is staying at home the only alternative the company can come up
> with?

Well... There are some unions rules, such as: a chemist cannot take the
job of a secretary, for example. And, alas, there are quite a number of
unimaginative bosses that do not see an alternative. It passes as "oh, I
really don't want to take any chance". So, the not very imaginative Board
of Occupational Health then says "but she does not need to breastfeed for
so long". So, yes, the recommendation is going to help, as also does my
very calm explanation (thanks to your work) that breastfeeding for many
years is not prolonged but normal, as is breastfeedig during pregnancy
and breastfeeding two children at a time. But these (rare) stories "make
the Board look bad" (???????), thus the perceived need to put a limit on
on duration. It is also hard on the women: imagine choosing a profession,
studying in it, then beeing excluded from it for a lot of your
reproductive years, if you choose a normal pattern of breastfeeding. No
amount of compensation will replace a professional life you like.

Thus, the need for a realistic evaluation of the risks to the breastfed
child from taking contaminated breastmilk...

Louise Denhez, M.D., M.P.H Chargee d'enseignement clinique
Departement de medecine sociale et preventive