Picture A Leader: Leaders Focus on Accreditation

• Published in: Leaven (Franklin Park, Ill.) Vol. 35; no. 5; p. 111-112
• Main Authors: Edwards, Alice, Beckham, Carroll, Smith, Cindy, Swenson, Mardrey
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Schaumburg La Leche League International, Inc 30.11.1999
• Subjects: Babies; Births; Breastfeeding & lactation; Families & family life; Households; Nonprofit organizations; Obstetrics; Organizations; Psychology
• ISSN: 8750-2011

LLL Leaders around the world are focused on the importance of their role in the accreditation process. Thanks for sending me the articles you've written, workshops you've developed, translations you've done, as well as your thoughts about the 1998 accreditation policies. Thanks for taking advantage of the opportunities you've had this year to gather and talk with other Leaders in your communities, at the International Conference in Florida and via email. Thanks for accessing ideas shared by leaders around the world on the EC Web page. Thanks for sharing what you've learned as you've used the 1998 accreditation policies with potential Applicants. This is a great conversation! Here are a few thoughts that Leaders have shared with me that explore the theme expressed in the LLLI Prerequisites to Applying for Leadership -- Guidelines for Leaders: I don't think the concept of "the baby's need for the mother is as intense as his need for food" is going to change. That stands for something very real. But I do think we've ignored how significant other people can be in the baby's life and how attached the baby can be to others. Burton White found that the baby's grandparents are also capable of investing tremendous love in a grandchild. My third-born child has very strong attachments and preferences for his brother or sister doing particular things in his life, and rejects my doing these things with/for him! As our family grew I had to adapt to the fact that others in my baby's life were very dear to him and fulfilled some of his needs. LLLI philosophy states, "Mothering through breastfeeding is the most natural and effective way of understanding and satisfying the needs of the baby" and "In the early years the baby has an intense need to be with his mother which is as basic as his need for food." It is this philosophy of mothering through breastfeeding that defines La Leche League. Mothering through breastfeeding requires mother's availability to her baby to meet his needs for food and comfort, as well as time to learn how to mother her unique baby. It requires an understanding of the development of her baby and a respect for that developmental process. Our philosophy does not mandate full-time, at-home mothering as the only way to meet baby's needs, but it does suggest some flexibility in a mother's work situation as well as an intense desire on the part of the mother to respond to her baby's needs not fit the baby's needs into the pattern of her day.