Jan said:

"I'm amazed that so many of the women that won't make an emotional
commitment
to natural childbirth or to breastfeeding are yet the same women that make a
commitment to working out or running marathons or other things that involve
pain"

The obvious conclusion to draw, then, is that pain isn't the issue.  Women
are willing to endure physical pain in order to accomplish any number of
goals, including, sometimes, breastfeeding. In fact, amongst my
primarily-Hispanic clients (I'm with WIC), nipple pain is often taken as a
sign that breastfeeding is going WELL.  Some of them EXPECT it to hurt:

Mom:  I'm calling because I want to know what I need to eat in order to make
enough milk for my baby.
Me:  What makes you think that you're not making enough already?

(BTW, I always make them explain their perceived insufficiency - I assume
that they DO make enough milk; if they want me to believe they're NOT, then
they'd better be able to give me a darn good reason.)

Mom:  Well, because he's always hungry.  He's never full.  And yet I know
he's sucking well.
Me:  How do you know that? (again, I want an explanation)
Mom: Because it hurts so much.  ("AHA!" says the L.C. to herself)
Me:  It's not supposed to hurt when you nurse; let's work on that first and
go from there.
Mom:  Oh, I can take it - I don't mind the pain, just so long as he gets my
milk.  The problem is I'm not making enough. So what can I eat that will
give me more breastmilk?

At which point I heave a heavy yet silent sigh in my soul, and whip out my
La Leche League HRE (Human Relations Enrichment) listening skills LOL.

The bottom line is that I often have to convince the mom, *first*, that
eliminating her nipple pain will result in a more satisfied baby before
she's willing to work on fixing it.  She'll sacrifice her nipples if need
be, "just so long as he gets my milk."

So to get back to Jan's point, the question, to me, seems to be WHY.  Why
are some women willing to bend over backwards, and endure nearly any sort of
pain, for some goals, but not for natural childbirth or breastfeeding?

I'm not sure that I have the answer to that, but I suspect that part of it
lies in culture - what a given woman's society considers "normal" and
acceptable.

To many of my clients (primarily those from Central and South America),
doing at least *some* breastfeeding is normal and expected.  Those that come
from a breastfeeding community or breastfeeding family expect to nurse, and
their self-esteem as mothers will be adversely affected if they don't.  The
pain they're currently feeling in their nipples is nothing compared to the
pain they're going to feel in their hearts if they don't breastfeed.  But
that isn't the case, largely speaking, in the U.S.  Breastfeeding is an
OPTION.  A lovely CHOICE that one CAN make, if one is so inclined.  It would
be "nice" if you "could" breastfeed, because your baby will be healthier,
but if you don't, then...oh well.  "At least I tried."

"Trying" to breastfeed is all our culture requires.....
Regina Roig-Lane, BS IBCLC for Miami-Dade County WIC




-----Original Message-----
Jan said:

I'm amazed that so many of the women that won't make an emotional commitment
to natural childbirth or to breastfeeding are yet the same women that make a
commitment to working out or running marathons or other things that involve
pain.....

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