Hey, check out the post I wrote for The Leaky Boob: "Good Cop, Bad Cop - On The Breastfeeding Police". A snip:
YES, I do think that women who feel they ‘can’t’ produce enough milk have often been sabotaged (i.e. booby-trapped) in ways they are unaware of. And one of the things that most often thwarts them is misinformation.HOWEVER. Statements that imply that really, everyone can breastfeed and if they didn’t succeed, they just didn’t try hard enough, mind over matter? EVERY BIT as misinformed as the bad advice that might have led a mom to undermine her supply or her belief in her supply. I know it’s highly unorthodox for a breastfeeding advocate to call other breastfeeding advocates out when their intentions really were good, but I see so much poor advice online that it’s really starting to get to me.
And later:
This does NOT mean that there is not a place for peer support. There so absolutely is is – La Leche League turned the tide on breastfeeding half a century ago and its very foundation was peer support. But part of being a trustworthy resource is knowing when something is beyond your knowledge – even for professionals, certain things are beyond one’s scope of practice, and it is crucial to have the honesty and humility to know when to refer.
Please hop on over and take a look!
Holy crap, I love your post and am linking to it ASAP.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rebecca! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThis was amazing!! Thanks so much for a great article. I myself rarely offer specific advice to moms struggling to bf because my 3 babies all nursed like champs and I really don't have any personal knowledge on overcoming difficulties. (except a lot of tips for battling mastitis, as I've dealt with that many times!) So I see "peer support" to be not so much offering advice or making blanket statements, but as you said, to offer empathy and encouragement. I buy second-hand copies of "The Womanly Art" and five them away, hook moms up with local LLL phone numbers, and let them know I'll be a listening ear anytime they want to talk about what's going on. The last thing I want to do is come across as being superior because *I* successfully overcame some mild difficulties to bf 3 children. All that to say... you really hit the nail on the head and I'll definitely be sharing your post. =]
ReplyDelete