Many people ask me how I came to be a lactation consultant. Their inquisitiveness makes sense. For those who don’t have children, a good number are surprised there is a profession dedicated to helping moms and babies breastfeed. For my new moms, some are interested in perhaps enhancing our bond through deeper knowledge about me, others are interested in potentially following the same path. My answer is always the same: Aside from my primary desire, urge or even reflex to help others, a large part of why I do this is that it is a catharsis for the experience I had in becoming a mother. It was challenging for me on so many levels from the very beginning and remained acutely so for some time. Of course, it is still challenging, but I have had an opportunity to process and even mourn what I had anticipated my birth and first few months of motherhood to be. The reconciliation and acceptance have been liberating and I thank my instructors, my husband and girls, and the mommas and babes who have helped me along.
I came across this post yesterday and it resonated so deeply with me. I often encourage my moms at some point when they feel ready, to consider their birth experience for what it was and what they had hoped and to do whatever works best for them to honestly evaluate their feelings aside from the gift of their beautiful baby appearing in the world. I wanted to share the post with those who visit here in hopes that all will remember that we are complicated, many-faceted beings and that paying deference to that will ultimately make us better parents.
Edit: Sadly, the article linked above is no longer available on the www, but hopefully you get the idea what it was about from my sentiments.