Marit,
Thankyou so much for tussling with your dictionary to contribute to this 
conversation.
Yes, I know that breastfeeding in its full richness of so much more than 
feeding and it's been one of my missions to communicate this....but if it's 
not enjoyable is a bit of it better than none of it? I would say yes.
Also, as others have mentioned, this can change. Breastfeeding can start out 
being very difficult, quite unpleasant or just plain tiring and become 
easier and more pleasureable over time (and this is something I found in my 
long term breastfeeding research). It can also go from being pleasurable to 
being unpleasant or just not pleasureable...there was one woman in my long 
term study who said that breastfeeding was joyful for the first 2 years and 
after that it became for her something that she just did, her comparison 
"like brushing my teeth." Was that a problem?? I really don't think so.
And of course you are 100% correct, telling women to breastfeed without 
creating an environment within which they can do so is plain cruel.
Rachael, I think that part of what you are describing is a situation where 
women are ashamed to admit that they do not like breastfeeding because they 
are supposed to and so they supress it. It is for these women also that I 
say we should say that it is OK to not like breastfeeding (and I really mean 
here "not like" I'm not saying "hate" but I guess that that is the nth 
degree of "not like") and to do it nonetheless. It's that ideal mother 
thing. The idea that to breastfeed you should be as pure as the driven snow 
ie eat perfectly, no drugs of and be the earth mother in bliss over 
breastfeeding (again taking it to the nth degree). I just don't believe this 
is so and  that women are actually assisted by hearing that breastfeeding is 
often damn difficult to start with, not at all pleasant and that while it 
gets better for nearly everyone some women never find it to be a pleasurable 
thing to do and that's quite OK. I too feel that there is probably a problem 
if a woman has a real aversion to breastfeeding (as opposed to a neutral not 
liking) but perhaps that problem cannot be overcome and if not and she is 
willing to breastfeed nonetheless, why not? I think it's better to enjoy 
breastfeeding but if that is not possible then IMO it is better to 
breastfeed out of a sense of duty than not at all. The duty would flow from 
love in many after all.
Karleen Gribble
Australia




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marit Olanders" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2008 10:31 PM
Subject: how do people not know? 

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