As a Lactation Consultant, I have the opportunity to
work with many pregnant women and new parents. I have noticed that we, the
Lactation Community, are often viewed as extremists who use shame, force, and
intellectualism to bully families into breastfeeding their babies’. This is
troubling for such an important profession as ours. Have we lost our focus as
we promote breastfeeding and, if so, how do we get back?
With a quick internet search using some of the
derogatory names, “lactivists” and “lacto-nazis,” I found two stories written by two very different
moms both making the same point about their experiences with their lactation
consultant. The first was a new mom who thought she had been doing a great job
with breastfeeding her newborn and the second was a breast cancer survivor who
had a double mastectomy. Blogger Michelle Golberg, a new mom, from slate.com
writes, “One of the worst moments of my first year with my first child was a
visit from a well-regarded lactation consultant. Until she showed up, I’d been
thinking that the whole having-a-newborn thing wasn’t quite as bad as I’d
feared. Afterward, I was ashamed, overwhelmed, and unsure I could handle parenthood.”
In Goldberg’s blog she explains how the lactation consultant told her that her
son’s sucking skills and her milk production were inadequate and that she
needed to pump 20 minutes between each feed. She states that because she was
vulnerable she obeyed and was left feeling ashamed and overwhelmed. Emily
Wax-Thibodeaux, breast cancer survivor, writes in the Chicago Tribune,
“As the two of them cuddled afterward, I was in a mood that I can describe only
as postpartum elation. That is, until those I jokingly call the ‘breast-feeding
Nazis’ came marching in to my room. ’You really should breast-feed,’ the
hospital's lactation consultants, aka ‘lactivists’ said. ‘I can't. I had breast
cancer,’ I said.” Further in
Wax-Thibodeaux’s article she says that even with being told she didn’t have
breasts the lactation consultant still encouraged her to breastfeed stating,
“Let’s hope you get some milk.” A patronizing approach, shaming and guilt
tripping moms to breastfeed and even sometimes forcing breastfeeding upon an
unwilling recipient should never be a part of our support.
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The Lactation Community should be
empowering families to make a well-educated decision about how they will feed
their babies. Liz Brooks, a lawyer and IBCLC states on her website lizbrooksibclc.com,
“IBCLCs have the essential credential for lactation support! They empower
mothers and save babies’ lives.” We encourage breastfeeding but shaming and
guilt tripping will only repulse families from breastfeeding
Additionally, “The Surgeon General’s
Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding” should be taken seriously for all
Lactation Professionals since it is a “Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding” not to force
breastfeeding. The document states, “Women who choose to breastfeed face numerous
barriers. Only through the support of family members, communities, clinicians,
health care systems, and employers will we be able to make breastfeeding become
the easy choice, the default choice.”
Every parent gets to choose how they will feed their baby. We should
never force any parent to breastfeed.
How do we support those who choose not
to breastfeed? In the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding FAQs, the question is posed:
“Q. If a mother states her preference
to formula-feed her infant, how should the hospital respond?
A. Counseling the infant feeding
decision should be both patient-centered and family-centered. If a mother
chooses not to breastfeed, we would expect the hospital to explore the mother’s
concerns about breastfeeding and offer ways to address them. However, if after
being informed of the negative consequences the mother still chooses to
formula-feed her infant, a level of respect must be maintained regarding her
choice. Once she has given birth, she should be taught how to safely prepare
formula, provided the best formula options for her infant and shown how to
properly feed her infant. Remember, mom’s often make last minute decisions to
breastfeed. Hospital processes should be flexible to allow the mother this
option.”
The number
one principle for the IBCLC in the IBLCE Code of Professional Conduct
Principles is to, “provide services that protect, promote, and support
breastfeeding”. Shaming, forcing, and guilt-tripping families to breastfeed is
unacceptable as a Lactation Consultant. We are to be professional in our
support. Let’s make this time in a family’s life a happy time, full of good
memories and nonjudgmental support empowering their decisions.
References:
Goldberg,
Michelle. Breast-Feeding Extremists Are Even Worse Than You Thought
Courtney
Jung’s Lactivism shows just how dangerous their cause can be. slate.com. Dec. 4, 2015 11:07AM
Wax-Thibodeaux,
Emily. “Why I Don’t Breastfeed, If You Must Know.” Chicago Tribune. chicagotribune.com. April 8, 2016
Office of
the Surgeon General (US); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US);
Office on Women’s Health (US). The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support
Breastfeeding. ncbinlmnih.gov. Rockville (MD): Office of the Surgeon
General (US); 2011.
Ten Steps
to Successful Breastfeeding Q&A. 2012 Baby-Friendly USA, Inc. UNICEF. World
Health Organization. babyfriendlyusa.org. 1989
IBLCE. Code
of Professional Conduct for IBCLCs. iblce.org. November 1, 2011 updated September
2015.
