Nikki,
> I think you are right on all three counts.  I have never emphasized 
> bonding
> for some reason--I guess I just assumed that if breastfeeding was going
> well, bonding would go well.
> I do mention colostrum--but have never looked at it the way you describe.
> Our prental breastfeeding class is only 2 hours long.  Every moment is
> precious--to be able to leave that out of the lecture would allow more 
> time
> to focus on other things.
> The point you made that I have already expressed feelings about is the
> emphasis that mothers will "love" breastfeeding.  I compare it to the
> affection you feel for your spouse--sometimes you like/love them, 
> sometimes
> you don't, but that doesn't mean that you let the emotion of the moment
> dictate whether or not you stick with them.  When  I breastfed sometimes I
> felt tied down, tried of always giving, and given our culture 24 years
> ago, sometimes embarressed that I was "still" breastfeeding.  And yet I 
> followed my > brain, not my heart on some days and stuck with it until the 
> blissful
> feeling returned--for a while.  Every day was different, but the goal was
> the same--do what is best for my daughter's health and well-being.  I have
> never regretted a day that I breastfed her and the main feeling I remember
> is the bliss--but I also faintly remember the harder days.
> Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
> glenda dickerson
> b'ham, al
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Nikki Lee" <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 7:07 AM
> Subject: breastfeeding videos and thoughts (long)
>
>
>> Dear Friends:
>>    I get to see a lot of breastfeeding videos, which  is very interesting
>> and important to our profession. A good video creates  emotion and/or
>> teaches,
>> which are both vital in our work.
>>    After watching some films today as part  of preparing for a class, I
>> had
>> some thoughts to share  and questions to  pose to you all because I feel
>> confused, and a little sad.
>>    My questions are about the teaching of colostrum,  the word 'bonding'
>> and
>> the bliss aspect of breastfeeding.
>>    The emphasis on colostrum is a complex topic. On  one hand, what ever
>> is
>> in the breast that day is perfect for the baby, while  there are cultures
>> where the first milk is deemed bad for babies and  withheld. So I can
>> understand
>> the importance of disseminating the information  about colostrum to a
>> video
>> audience, as many videos do.
>>    On the other hand, most of us can drive a car very  well without
>> knowing
>> the names and functions of all the parts under the hood. If  we had to
>> learn
>> about engines before we were licensed to drive, life would be  far more
>> difficult and confusing! Most pregnant women I am working with have 
>> about
>> 3 brain
>> cells left to learn anything because all their mental energy is  going
>> into
>> thoughts about labor. I don't want to take up one of those brain  cells
>> with a
>> term that really isn't important to breastfeeding. She doesn't need  to
>> know
>> about colostrum to breastfeed, she needs to know to keep her baby
>> skin-to-skin,
>> to respond to the baby's cues for the breast, and where to find  someone
>> to
>> help her with this new relationship.
>>    I have two opposing views concerning teaching of  colostrum; my
>> tendency
>> is not to mention it, unless the mother asks me. Usually,  when they ask,
>> it
>> has been to say, "There isn't really milk at first is there?  There is
>> that
>> colastra something..." which requires clarification and proves my  point
>> (at
>> least to me :-) that most people need to know that the milk in the 
>> breast
>> that
>> day is perfect for the baby, whatever one calls it.
>>    Another aspect of videos is that they often portray  breastfeeding as
>> bliss. Breastfeeding is ocassionally blissful. Mostly, when one  is doing
>> it
>> 15-20 times a day with a new baby, it is forgettable and  convenient. We
>> don't
>> have raptures during meals with every bite; there are  special meals of
>> course,
>> where there is bliss but that is more the exception  than the rule.
>> Doesn't it
>> set mothers up for an impossibility to teach that  breastfeeding is
>> blissful?
>>    Sometimes mothers in videos are incoherent. They  can't describe their
>> feelings, and either say so, or they become speechless and  repeat the
>> same
>> phrase "It's just a special feeling ". How well does that  inspire a
>> woman? What's
>> the point of showing a mother who can't talk?
>>    And that word 'bonding'....something about it jars  me. It isn't a
>> natural word to me; I guess because it comes from science,  and has been
>> so overused
>> and abused.  I would prefer a words like:  tenderness, closeness,
>> pleasure,
>> calmness. I can remember working in labor  and delivery and hearing 
>> nurses
>> say,
>> "Okay, you've bonded now. The baby has to  go to the nursery" which 
>> always
>> bothered me. As if bonding was some sort of glue  or another task, like
>> giving
>> Vitamin K, that could be started and  finished.
>>    What are your thoughts on these subjects?
>>    warmly,
>> Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE
>> Maternal-Child  Adjunct Faculty Union Institute and University
>> Film Reviews Editor, Journal  of Human Lactation
>> Support the WHO Code and the Mother-Friendly Childbirth  Initiative
>>
>>             ***********************************************

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