I was just at the home of a teenager who really was trying hard to get
breastfeeding going - but her mother was VERY negative.

When she showed her mom the milk she had pumped, the reaction was one of
true disgust - as if the fluid in the bottles were pus!

In my experience, EVERY woman that has verbalized this reaction to me had
been abused (4 cases).  It was not immediately mentioned or evident to me -
in one case I only learned years later from another LC who met the mom with
a subsequent birth.  This is of course NOT to say that every woman who is
sexually abused reacts this way.

Recently there was a study that reported that a large proportion of women
WERE AT SOME TIME IN THEIR LIFE sexually abused...(I haven't read it, so
don't know what their definition of sexual abuse was).

There was also a recent study that showed that women who were abused were
MORE likely (rather than less) to breastfeed.  However, I do believe that
SOME women who were sexually abused cannot imagine allowing anyone at their
breast - even their own baby.

It may be a minority, but we need to tread with respect and not make
judgments...find out what the mom CAN deal with (some can handle a pump and
breast milk feed their babies).

Many do need and should be offered therapy as they are also uncomfortable
handling their babies.  Learning infant massage techniques through the
clothing and slowly getting closer to their babies can be helpful  All this
takes time and excellent support - not necessarily an LC to provide it, but
an LC may be the "first line" person to identify the problem and offer
referrals and resources.


Jeanette Panchula, BSW, RN, PHN, IBCLC
NEW e-mail address: [log in to unmask]

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html