Diane, you say

"A year paid maternity leave.........someone must pay for that leave. Who
whould it be? the employer? The Government(which means you and I). If a woman
chooses to have a baby she must also except the responsibilities that come
with it. Whether it be  Day care, working out an arrangement with her
employer, staying home, or doing a shared-time situation.  I know woman who
have done many of these things, raised healthy babies, breastfed and worked
w/o forcing employers and others to share in the lifestyle she (her family)
chooses.  "

I submit that our society and culture does very LITTLE to support any mother
who wishes to work, not work, breastfeed, or anything else. I submit that a
6 week maternity leave is inhuman, and places mothers in a position where
they cannot possibly take responsibility for everything that is on their
plates. I also see many mothers who do not have the wherewithall to
negotiate with their employers, as they are in poor paying jobs where their
employers are in total control ..etc.  As a professional nurse in a high
level hospital in my area, I worked, and could not, as a professional,
negotiate any time to PUMP,...etc..or a regular schedule so that I could
arrange daycare, so I QUIT that job...and have been taking care of my kids
ever since, and I don't regret it for one minute ( I even have time to run
this little listserv... : )   )...BUT, I can feel myself getting hot under
the collar about this issue.... Women are victimized by the type of
treatment that occurs regularly in our culture.  I would be glad to help
subsiedize, with my taxes, a lifestyle for women where they had some decent
time with their babies, PAID.  End of soapbox. Sorry.



Off my soapbox now.

Kathleen

Kathleen B. Bruce, BSN, IBCLC, LLLeader, co-owner Lactnet, LLLOL, Corgi-L
LACTNET WWW site: http://www.mcs.com/~auerbach/lactation.html
"Guilt: the gift that keeps on giving." Erma Bombeck