Pam: Thanks for your reply and suggestions.  Oddly enough, Oregon has the
highest rate of bf in the nation and on the surface our community appears to
be bf-friendly.   The discrimination is rather subtle.  I have asked MDs for
feedback and they have always been responsive as individuals.  Where we
start to get into "it" is at the institutional level.  You certainly hit the
nail on the head with the letters to the editor.  When the lactation program
was eliminated 6 years back, 30 moms wrote individual letters to the
hospital--with no impact (except a rather kurt letter from an exec), but the
local paper ran them and stirred up much discussion.  Perhaps it IS time for
a renewed burst of public consciousness raising.

My personal situation is rather convenient in that I don't directly receive
funding from the institutions that are less than supportive (although they
do refer moms, I have more than enough referals).  Fortunately, I am married
to someone with a relatively stable job who really supports bf to the point
where we are willing to donate a whole bunch of LC time and even supplies.
I do make money, but I don't count on it for our mortgage.  That is NOT the
case for most of the others working locally.  I state this because this
situations allows me to not act out of fear or fail to act because of
retribution.  So, any more suggestions...no matter how radical will be
welcome!

Chris Hafner-Eaton, PhD, MPH, CHES, IBCLC    [log in to unmask]
mom, wife, educator, lactation consultant, researcher, author, organic
gardener, photographer, lapidary creator, lousy cleaner.

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