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Why La Leche League?
| We should have learned breastfeeding as we grew up watching our sisters, mothers, and neighbors, all of whom nursed their own children. In our bottle-feeding culture, La Leche League may be the next best thing. At monthly meetings... You can look. No two people at a meeting will have the same parenting style. You'll see things that might work for you and things that wouldn't. Try what you like and leave the rest. You can listen. Some women just want to sit and listen when they come. No one will pressure you to talk if you don't want to. You can ask questions. Is this a normal breastmilk diaper? How can I get my baby to sleep? Where can I find a good bra? How will I cope with critics? What do I do with a crying baby? You can find a playgroup. Playgroups are for mothers, not children, and finding a group of women who are raising their babies the way you are can make your job much easier. Some of the playgroup friendships that start at a La Leche League meeting last long after the children are grown. You can find other resources. Looking for books? The name of a breastfeeding helper in your sister-in-law's hometown? Information on jaundice or increasing a milk supply? Breastfeeding literature in Korean? La Leche League is a great place to start. | You can talk to someone any time. La Leche League's breastfeeding counselors are just a phone call away, any time you need to talk. You can "get out" with your baby. The meetings are designed with babies in mind. They're informal, there are toys for toddlers and snacks for everyone, and no one will mind if you nurse, change a diaper, soothe a fretful baby, come late, or leave early. It feels good to get out of the house with your baby. What better place to come? You can complain. No relationship is all roses. Sometimes it helps to complain among people who have "been there". You can do it at a La Leche League meeting. Whatever you're going through, someone there will have had something similar. You can help someone else. When you come to a La Leche League meeting, you don't just learn from other women; other women have a chance to learn from you. You become part of the pattern of ripples that began at the first La Leche League meeting in 1956. Those ripples have spread around the world and are still felt at all the mother-to-mother get-togethers that are the heart of La Leche League. |