I have a small collection of medical texts from right about a century ago,
which I think give some insight into the question of how infant feeding came
to be seen as solely the mother's right, with the rights of the babies not
considered. In more than one of my books, there is discussion about when the
mother should or should not be "permitted" to breastfeed.  Then, of course,
were several decades where the medical profession effectively took the
choice away from mothers, with incorrect advice and hospital policies that
sabotaged. I think the current feeling that choices of breast or bottle
belong to the mother is, at least in part, an offshoot of that.

I, for one, have a very hard time understanding how anyone who has even a
basic understanding of the topic, and really has her baby's best interest at
heart, would forego the opportunity of breastfeeding, in favor of bottles.
I believe that most moms who choose bottlefeeding from the start are lacking
some piece of information, or have some kind of personal issue, that is
getting in their way. For example, I have known several women who could not
stand the thought of breastfeeding, because of previous sexual abuse that
involved their breasts.  However, I also know several with histories of
sexual abuse who went ahead and tried to breastfeed, despite their
discomfort, and found that nursing their babies actually gave them a sense
of regaining the control over their bodies that their abusers had robbed
them of.  For that matter, many of us adoptive mothers find that nursing our
babies helps restore some of the sense of control that infertility takes
away.  We lose total control over our babies' prenatal lives (and often a
significant amount of their lives after birth), but we can nurture, and at
least partly feed, our babies in the way we feel is best.

Darillyn Starr
Adoptive mom of six






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