Dear friends,

May be this just a rant, but I will be grateful for the ideas of some clever
replies that will made those mothers and grandmothers think.

Here in Ukraine we have a superstition that if baby was weaned for some
reason (it is doesn't matter which) or doesn't suckle at the breast for a
some time  and if he goes to the  breast again, he will either become prone
to "evil eye" or become "evil-eyed" himself: I've heard different versions;
one mother was even told that baby will have poor eyesight because of that.
It may sound stupid, but I encounter that belief nearly every time I suggest
relactation or speak to a mother of toddler who has to leave him for some
days because of business trip etc. "Evil-eyed" mean that person with this
ability can spoil things that are going smoothly (if they praise somebody's
computer reliability there will be a irreparable disk failure in a couple of
days :)) or make healthy people not so healthy. 

Mothers often know that. If they do not know, grandmothers will tell them.
They can have university degrees, be a PhD and even professors - and still
told their daghters not to feed their babies again. They are clever educated
women, but this belief is deeply rooted.We are not stupid here but our folk
culture full of that witchery. 

Last time mother was told that by her pediatrician! She had such a hard
start - her baby was in NICU after birth for several weeks, and she make him
fully breastfeed by one month. She worked so hard to preserve breastfeeding!
And now (baby is about 4 months) she was prescribed interferone treatment
(compartible with breastfeeding, when I looked for her!). and was told by
different doctors (she tried to collect different opinions because she
wanted to breastfeed) to wean: take Dostinex, fully express her breasts and
bind them. Called me after she began weaning. We discussed different
options: continue nursing, partially nursing, relactation after the
treatment. And that pediatrician  told her that they use that interferon for
a small babies, but... your dose seems rather high... and you know they say
it is better for baby not to start bf again... I  am feeling so sad for this
mother. She still has milk despite all that dostinex

Well, some mothers do not care for that, but many think: "we do not know
much about those supernatural powers. What if I really do permanent harm to
my baby?" You know how fragile new mothers can be.
 I can speak about lifelong benefits of breastfeeding, speak of how baby
needs her milk now - but I still feel that doubt in them!
I told them that many mothers around the world was happy because they
relactated or continued to nurse and their babies were happy (and healthy)
too.

I think that this belief probably was created by observing that some
toddlers became more anxious and wanted to nurse more for some time (so they
appeared "spoiled") if they were allowed to go to breast after the
interruption. This explanation works for some mothers. I am not sure that
this is correct, of course.

I reasoned that supernatural should be counteracted by some irrational
things or by humor.
May be choosing some strange superstition that no one cares about anymore
and asking mothers "is you also doing those things regularily?" to make them
laugh will work?

Sincerely yours, 
Victoria Nesterova,
bf supporter, Kiev, Ukraine 

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