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Date: | Wed, 1 Mar 2006 00:50:03 -0500 |
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Betsy writes:
"It seeme to me if the mother perserveres through whatever the
problems=20=
might be that she encounters with her infant's ability to latch and=20
successfully, and she is successful, the outcome is the same as it
would=20=
be for another mother/baby couplet who do not happen to encounter any=20
problems. Both mothers end up with a successfully nursing baby, both
of=20=
whom are receiving breastmilk as an exclusive diet."
So I guess I am asking why it matters whether or not breastfeeding=20
is "medicalized" as long as the outcome is an exclusively nursing baby."
How can we believe that these are the same? If our definition of
success is that both mothers are breastfeeding exclusively and we don't
think that the "getting there" matters, then we are really missing the
point. For one thing, mothers are less likely to "get there", the more
they have to contend with, so we are going to lose a lot of moms along
the way to "receiving breastmilk as an exclusive diet.". Certainly,
many more moms who have to struggle either wean very early or do not
breastfeed exclusively (from the beginning!)
Why should mothers and babies have to overcome the pain and trauma of a
struggle to breastfeed, when instead they should be able to settle in
for a beautiful babymoon? How can we believe that missing this time
together doesn't matter? Mothers and babies generally do not happen to
encounter problems--for the most part, problems are caused by the
medicalization of birth and the cultural ideas that diminish the needs
of mothers, and babies in particular. As I see it, the belief that the
(medically-defined) "outcome" is the parameter for success is one of
those very ideas that diminshes what the post-partum period deserves to
be.
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA
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