Hi, All: Catching up both here at work as well as with Lactnet after
spending spring break with my kids for the first time in their lives - my
youngest is 11! Have also been doing some reading. For those of you who
are into historical novels, time travel, meticulously researched novels,
etc., if you have never read Diana Gabaldon, she is a must read! I am
currently halfway thru her latest novel - her 6th - (all are 1000-pagers)
about a time-traveling nurse (World War II back to 18th-century Scotland
and the "Colonies"). I continue to be amazed at her handling of
breastfeeding in her novels as a totally natural and normal human
behavior. I've just finished reading a chapter (18th century American
Colonies) in which she is working desparately to rehydrate a mother, her 5
and 1 year-old daughters after diagnosing them with amoebic dysentery. A
woman who is with her (currently nursing her own baby) notices the nurse
examining the unconscious mother's breasts for signs of milk, but due to
her extreme dehydration (the author's description of the "dried-up" breasts
is interesting) finding no milk, opens her own blouse, massages her breasts
to elicit let-down and tries frantically to squirt her milk into the dying
baby's mouth.
The books take place over many years and there are frequent references of
the babies of some of the main characters nursing 5 or more years and
mothers feeding their babies in whatever situation the character finds
herself in. It's so refreshing to read about a culture (which used to be
ours, as Americans!) in which there are no other infant feeding choices.
If any of you are interested in her books, they must be read in order, as
the story is on-going. I guarantee, they are the most painless history
lesson you will ever learn.
I have no financial interest in these books, other than owning every one
this author has written.
Pam Hirsch, BSN,RN,IBCLC
Clinical Lead, Lactation Services
Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital
Barrington, IL USA
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