Hi All,
One thought that comes to mind for various reasons (some personal) is sexual
abuse.  That can really mess with someone's mind, you know?  The thought of
someone else touching a very private (and sexualized) part of your body -
one that may very well have been violated - can be so daunting that there is
no way in hell a woman would attach a baby there.  I have worked with a
number of clients in that situation.  Luckily, tho, a couple of them decided
to pump and bottle feed the EBM.  They never could even bring themselves to
put the baby to the breast...That would be some other person doing something
TO them.  If they pump, they are doing it themselves...  My suggestion in
this case is to suggest that if they cannot handle the thought of putting
the baby to the breast, can they handle the idea of pumping?  Some can -
some can't.
Sometimes the body image left to those of us who have suffered at the hands
of an abuser can be too much to get past.  It makes it difficult to allow
anyone else to touch us in a way that is healthy - even if it is NOT sexual.
Those of us (like myelf) who are fortunate, manage to get past that body
image and are able to BF our babies with no problems and can make it ot a
point where we can be physically intimate with a partner without emotional
trauma.  It has a lot to do with control...when the vitim becomes a survivor
she takes back her control, her body, her life...

One other idea, is simply that our society makes such a big deal out of BF
in
public (or BF at all) being gross, bodily fluid - ick, sexual,
etc...ugh...that it makes BF sound icky or nasty to do.  Last thought that
comes to mind is that the majority of women in our country (USA) have never
seen a baby BF.  How sad is that?  Or if they have, it has been a negative
experience in some way (some jack ass makes a nasty comment about it, or
something).

This, sadly, is not something that will go away very easily in some parts of
the world.

Jaye

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