Maureen asks for good, old-fashioned evidence, or references on bereavement
and breastfeeding.  She also points out that the issue in counselling
mothers after their breastfed baby dies is compassion, not breastfeeding.  I
am not sure what Maureen is looking for evidence about, but as usual that
will not stop me from posting.

Last I heard, compassion was not a subject heavily represented in the
evidence-based practice literature.  Listening to, and respecting women has
been demonstrated to be an effective strategy in providing good obstetric
care.  We can rely on the gut feelings of the women whose babies have died.
Lactation is a bodily function.  For most of us it is tied to the people
dearest to us on the face of the earth, our children.  But there is no
automatic 'off' switch if a child dies.

The evidence shows that most of us don't lactate for a large enough chunk of
our lives, and we are paying the price of that omission in the form of
various diseases for which our risk is higher if we don't lactate.  If a
woman decides for whatever reason to continue engaging in the
health-promoting behavior of lactating even after the child whose feeding
initiated the process is no longer breastfeeding, who are we to tell her to
stop?

Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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