I've been off lactnet for some weeks, and started catching up during the
discussion of why women don't bf.  I'm *delighted* with Pam's targeting
ignorance as one of only a couple fundamental reasons.

Susan wrote movingly of her own situation, which she felt was not based in
ignorance, but it seemed to me it was *all* ignorance:  ignorance on the
hospital's part for failing to help her establish lactation in atypical
circumstances, on her doctor's part for not understanding medications and
lactation, on her LLLL's and her LC's part for not having wider knowledge
and better solutions, on the part of breastfeeding equipment manufacturers
for not putting more energy into ultra-easy, ultra-simple feeding tube
devices, on the part of an entire society for not giving her the support she
and her baby deserved and for not creating the milk banks she and her baby
needed.

In every mother's case, including those we might label "selfishness", I
think it's just a question of whose ignorance is involved and how deeply it
runs.  The mother of a wanted but lame child would fight tooth and nail for
his ability to walk.  She knows on all *sorts* of levels how important that
ability is.  Her family, her culture, her HCPs, and probably even her
insurance plan would back her up completely.

Breastfeeding?  She honestly doesn't know the importance of the normalcy
she's fighting for, and no one around her enlightens her.  Even those of us
in the profession speak mainly of "bonuses".  If we really knew what we were
doing, would there be so many non-latching babies or low supplies or
infected breasts and nipples?  If our culture weren't so ignorant, wouldn't
it be *demanding* what it needs to allow all its children to bf?  If our
researchers weren't so ignorant, wouldn't we have a mountain of studies on
the effect of infant feeding on subsequent emotional development of both
mother and child, not just on health issues?  The studies aren't there
because our culture has been too ignorant to see the importance of doing
them.  And so we're ignorant of the results.  And so on.

I'd put Pam's notion "ignorance" at the head of a tiny list of reasons women
don't breastfeed, and I'd append every one of our names to the list of those
whose ignorance contributes to her problems.  And now, before I feel any
worse, I'm going to go have some chocolate...  Oh.  And then I'm going to
read more lactnet, to *reduce*, at least, my level of ignorance...
--
Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC, LLLL  Ithaca, NY
www.wiessinger.baka.com

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