Support

Today I was speaking with parents of a preterm baby.
They were very young parents.

I was going on about the need for expressed breast milk,
the risk of infection and suddenly realized that the messages did not sink in.

What they needed was support.
Perhaps they did not get the support from home.
Perhaps they did not get support from friends.
But that was what they needed.
They needed support more than information.

So I tried to change my tone; my intention changed.
It changed from empathetic informing to compassionate support.

The situation became almost instantly less tense.
I think that we parted as friends.
I don't think my information was conveyed successfully,
but I think we had meant something for each other
and isn't that what really counts?