Vienna Trip
Susan G.
VA USA
From: NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 16 No. 4, May-June 1999, p. 73-74
In February 1998, my three-year-old
breastfeeding daughter, Claire, and I traveled from our mountain home
in southwest Virginia to the Vorarlberg region of Austria. Vorarlberg
is the westernmost part of Austria, bordering Germany and Switzerland.
While we were in Austria, we wanted to attend a La Leche League meeting.
After a quick search for
La Leche League of Austria on the Internet, I found Astrid Entner. Astrid
has been the La Leche League Leader for the entire Vorarlberg region
for three-and-a-half years. Astrid happily gave us the time and place
of the next Vorarlberg LLL meeting, which is held in her hometown of
Frastanz.
A bit apprehensive, I traveled
with Claire to the meeting by train from our "base" in Bregenz
on Lake Constance. When we arrived at the meeting place somewhat early,
we met Astrid, carrying in the Group Library and a big thermos of hot
tea. I was reminded of how often I had seen my local Leader doing the
same. I immediately felt at home, and Astrid welcomed us warmly.
The La Leche League meetings
in Vorarlberg are usually attended by 15 to 25 mothers and children.
That evening, there were 16 people in the room. The attendees were quite
varied: first-timers, expectant mothers, infants, a new dad, one-year-old
babies, toddlers, even a new set of twins. The topic was the advantages
of breastfeeding.
Astrid asked everyone to
introduce themselves and to give an advantage of breastfeeding that
was important to them. Each mother's face glowed as she named an advantage
and told how wonderful breastfeeding is, all but the mother of twins.
She sat silent and expressionless as the advantages of breastfeeding
were reeled off: provides immunities, no bottles to prepare, economical,
ecological, the best nutrition, aids in brain development, bonding of
mother, child, and family. At one point, the mother produced a bottle,
with which she began feeding one of her sons. Expressed milk, we assumed.
Maybe she was not yet confident enough to nurse in public. Astrid witnessed
this, then turned to her and said softly, "Sometimes, because of extenuating
circumstances, it is not possible to breastfeed, but I want you to know
that you are always welcome here at LLL meetings." It had to be extremely
difficult for that mother to come to this meeting as she had attended
the meetings during her pregnancy and was planning to breastfeed. No
one knew that this mother was not breastfeeding until this evening.
Maybe she came to the LLL meeting for fellowship, support, and empathy.
Maybe she just wanted to show off her two little sons.
After the meeting, Claire
and I received invitations to visit the homes of Astrid and Stephanie
Jacob-Worsch. Stephanie, her husband, Charly, and their five-month-old
daughter, Lena, live in Bludenz, a small town nestled below the Vorarlberg
Alps. One day, Stephanie and I packed up the baby carrier, the toddler
backpack, the children, some nutritious snacks, and headed for a hike
in the Alps. How wonderful it is to know that breastfed babies are portable!
That evening, Stephanie had
a get-together at her house with several women who are friends of hers,
including a mother with her four-month-old son who has Down Syndrome.
It warmed our hearts to see this mother breastfeeding. Several days
later, on a visit to the zoo with our children, Astrid and I met this
mother with her family. I introduced everyone, and the mother immediately
started talking to Astrid about breastfeeding her son. She said she
had not experienced any major problems and was hoping to breastfeed
her son as long as possible. Astrid asked the mother if she may use
her as a resource should someone ask her about breastfeeding a child
with Down Syndrome. The woman happily agreed.
It was an incredible experience
to attend an LLL meeting outside the United States. The LLL meeting
in Austria gave me a new perspective. The questions asked and responses
given were the same as at our meetings in Virginia - except it was all
in German.
Breastfeeding transcends
all languages, all cultures, all borders. Breastfeeding mothers often
feel a special bond when they meet: a bond that warmheartedly says,
"I already know you. We are already friends. We breastfeed."
Last updated Friday, November 3, 2006 by njb.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:29:42 UTC 2007.
