LLL leaders need to follow their core values. There are many reasons for them. IBLEC on the other hand are not as diehard as LLL. At least not from my perspective. Though many people who are IBLEC got there through LLL. I would have trouble being a LLL leader, because I can't be 100% for all their values, and I attend LLL.
You also need to have nursed for at least 9 months - which you now have - to be a LLL leader. Unless it's nurse for a year. I should know this, as I just looked it up last week or so.
There are very good reasons why LLL doesn't like pacifiers. They create many problems for many nursing pairs. Perhaps not all of them, but frequently enough to be on their not good list.
Drugs during childbirth do impair the nursing dyads ability to successfully nurse. Doesn't mean you won't be able to nurse, but it causes problems for many dyads because the baby is drugged up and unable to nurse right away. Not to mention the mother being drugged up.
LLL also wants babies to nurse at LEAST 1 year if not longer. Doesn't mean you can't nurse longer, but LLL advocates Child Lead Weaning (CLW) as much as possible. Because it's very good for the child.
C-sections are majorly bad for breastfeeding as mothers often have to wait hours, if not days, before they can nurse for the first time. Babies often are introduced to a bottle before mother has chance to nurse. Not to mention all the health issues involved with c-sections.
It doesn't make you a bad person to disagree with these items, but it may mean being a LLL leader is not your best option. There are of course women who have had c-sections who go to LLL - I mean when 1 in 3 women have them of course there are. There are women who use Pacifiers and women who use pain meds in child birth and women who wean early.
You may just need to find a different mentor if you really want to be a LLL leader.
The evil thing I would advocate as a LLL member that LLL doesn't like is that you can supplement with formula and still nurse. Specifically thinking of women who work or go to school. I don't think this is ideal, and it will of course impact your supply, but I would rather a women try to nurse and supplement than give up right away because they think it's all or none and they won't be able to nurse when they go back to work/school. I once thought it was all or none, and I now know differently.
