Re: [ozmidwifery] FW: Breastfeeding

[Barb Glare & Chris Bright]

Interesting, Carina and Denise,   I feel breastfeeding advocates have been "hoisted on their own pettard" - for so long we sold the message that breast is best.  Not the obvious, that breast is normal; formula feeding is not, and some risks.  Risks which we may choose to accept, or may have to accept.  Unfortunately "guilt" has become a blunt instrument with which to bludgeon breastfeeding advocates, and prevent sensible discussion of the real issues.   As Denise said, occasionally, like any other part of the body occasionally breasts don't work. My son and I have asthma. (I guess I "gave" it to him as part of our genetic heritage) Our lungs don't work properly. Some-times I supplement him with oxygen, and everyday we both take drugs.  I don't feel guilty about that. With my first child (not the asthmatic one - he of course was fully breastfed til 6 mnths) I got into a complete pickle.  Work, lack of sleep, difficulty adjusting to my new situation.  I was easily "conned" into believing my breasts didn't work.  The formula flowed freely.  Unfortunately the breastmilk did not seem to do likewise.  I scraped through - breastfeeding and artificial feeding. Subsequent children have taught me that my breasts worked fabulously - but I did not have a good idea of what "normal" was.(they taught me that, too)  I recieved liberal lashings of poor information, until I managed to access the support of the Australian Breastfeeding Association I don't feel guilty about formula feeding.  I did the best I could under the circumstances, which were trying to say the least.  In my volunteer work as a breastfeeding counsellor and my professional work as an infant feeding consultant I work with women every day.  Not all manage to breastfeed, despite all our efforts.  Sometimes I don't know why.  Some-times I do.  We don't live in a culture where breastfeeding is normal and understood.  However, I do believe women deserve the information that formula has risks, and encouragement and information to breastfeed.  I dispense info on weaning, and work to promote breastfeeding as normal and to increase society's knowledge of breastfeeding.   I help mothers as much as I can, understand why it didn't work for them, grieve for a time of life lost, reflect on their experience and enjoy their baby, and not feel guilty about the decision they made, or had to make.   Barb   ----- Original Message ----- From: Denise Fisher To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2005 5:32 PM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] FW: Breastfeeding Hi Carina You've brought up some points that are good food for thought. It was a tragedy the day that milk banks were closed in Australia due to the scare with HIV, despite pasteurisation easily killing HIV (I wonder why sperm banks weren't also closed??). I note that a new bank is opening in WA and perhaps one in Melbourne. I wish them success. The incidence of physiological inability to breastfeed is somewhere in the order of  1 - 2 per 100 women. I don't believe with an incidence at this level that it warrants we guard everything we say to every woman. And then there's that really fascinating topic of 'guilt'. Can you induce guilt in someone? - maybe, if they really are guilty. However I don't feel guilty about something I have no control over. For example if I had no uterus I wouldn't feel guilty that I'm not adding to Australia's population, no matter how much Mr Howard exhorts me to. If I had no breasts or my breasts were not functional I would not feel guilty that I'm not breastfeeding regardless of how many people told me it was best. My opinion is that some health professionals don't know how to support women to breastfeed adequately and in covering their own feelings of guilt about this they 'pretend' that it's the mother they are trying not to make feel guilty. To give you lots of different opinions on guilt and breastfeeding do a google search using those terms. Have fun Denise At 03:23 PM 18/05/2005 +0930, you wrote: Some food for thought,  What about the women who simply cannot breastfeed and cannot produce enough milk???? The wet nurse is still in existence in many tribal cultures where formulary has no influence. It�s very easy to be passionate about something and sing it�s praises when you have experienced success, but what about those women who don�t succeed despite months of trying and perseverance. I, like all many midwives of course believe that breast is best and should be promoted as optimum nutrition for a baby but sometimes I believe that in trying to get this message across we need to be careful not to make other women lose their �confidence ands fall into the motherhood guilt trap�. Carina *************************************** Denise Fisher, MMP, BN, IBCLC Health e-Learning http://www.health-e-learning.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] ****************************************