Pat wrote: <I was teaching childbirth ed classes about the time that epidurals came on the scene. First you had to be in a decent size hospital, 2nd it had to be day time and the anest couldn't be busy in OR. Then someone made the dollar discovery and it has been all downhill ever since.> My experience exactly, Pat. Hadn't happened when spinals, caudals, and pudendals were done by OB's with a nurse anesthetist (occasionally) asked to monitor the patient. I noticed there was some connection also between the sudden interest hospitals began to take in providing their own childbirth classes (over which physicians could more successfully exert some form of control about what could be said) and the demise of the independent childbirth education organization in our town. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" in "serving the parent market!" Now, many parents see absolutely no reason even to take childbirth classes since they know so many friends and relatives who have had epidurals, and expect one practically as they enter L&D. Thereby losing one great source of prenatal breastfeeding information! Jean *************** K. Jean Cotterman RNC, IBCLC Dayton, Ohio *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html