Breastfeeding

As some of you may know, a couple months ago I decided to become a volunteer peer counselor with the Nursing Mother's Counsel of Oregon.

I (along with about 20 other women) underwent about 25 hours of training over the course of one weekend and 3 Monday evenings. Along the way I met some very nice gals who share one of my most passionate beliefs- that breast is best and all babies should breastfeed for as long as mom can do it. Of course there was also the bra-less hippie who was there because "if all babies were breastfed there would be no wars". Well, possibly, but I might not say that out loud before a group. All in all, it was a very positive experience and an opportunity for me to do something for myself that had nothing to do with personal training or poopy diapers. I jumped at the chance. I knew that my breastfeeding relationship with Gavin would be ending soon and I love the whole experience so much that I still wanted to be involved in it in some aspect. In the training we discussed counseling skills, breastfeeding challenges, mom's diet, breastfeeding beyond the first year, weaning, counselor responsibilities and many other things. As a counselor I'm required to cover a live-line phone shift at least once a month and participate in health fairs, business meetings and get-togethers.
Today was my first phone shift. (I just call in to have calls to NMC forwarded to my cell phone) My shift was from 12-3 and I received my first (and only) call at about 12:30. I was soooo excited but also scared about giving out faulty information and ruining a mom's entire breastfeeding experience.
Here's what I'm hit with my very first time at bat: Mom of 5 wk. old (5th child) concerned that DHS is going to take her kids because her boyfriend uses marijuana for medicinal purposes in the home and because she's breathing the second hand smoke, she's passing it to the baby through her breastmilk. Apparently she's red flagged anyway due to a past issue with her 2 yr. old. They want to test her urine for marijuana. Does she stop nursing or just lie to them and say she's stopping and hope they'll leave her alone? Wow, couldn't be something like, "My nipples are sore and my baby has pooped 9 times today." I really wanted to help her and deep down all I could think to tell her was that our mission was to help her continue her breastfeeding relationship with her daughter. Drugs?!? She seemed like she wanted to continue nursing but I almost caught a hint of, "Fuck 'em, let them take all 5 of them if they think they can do a better job."
After that call I just came downstairs to my little doodlebug with his messy hair and booger nose and felt so blessed to be able to provide him with a warm home, abundance of food and clean breastmilk.