Hi Barb,
This was very good
Thanks
Lyle
>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 04/18/05 6:44 pm >>>
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]
****************************************
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