Nina and everyone who minds their language so carefully,
Basically I hear all the messages about portraying breastfeeding as
normal and formula-feeding as sub-optimal or downright risky. And I
wholeheartedly agree. But something has been bothering me. Does it
depend on the audience? I feel privileged to have had the
life-changing experience of teaching teenagers about breastfeeding,
and to feel the buzz that comes from reaching a few impressionable
hearts and minds well before they need to make a decision about how
to feed their future babies. Some of the most challenging questions
I've ever received from any audience were those during a schools
presentation to 200 Sixth-Form boys and girls, and their really novel
questions showed they had really thought about the advantages vs the
disadvantages of the breast/bottle controversy. I tried to convey my
passion for the subject, and to portray breastfeeding a baby as a
wonderful experience with so many health, immunological and emotional
advantages for the mother and the baby, with bonuses for
fathers/husbands too. Very politically incorrect I now realize ....
But I wonder how we can really put the whole breastfeeding message
across to teenagers and parents-to-be without framing at least some
of it in a really positive, persuasive way, rather than all doom and
gloom? Shouldn't there be a double message? Shouldn't we be saying
things like, Breastfeeding can be fabulous, and here's why .... as
well as _not_ breastfeeding can be disastrous, and here's why .... as
well as Each mother's milk is special and unique and irreplaceable to
her own baby, and No-one and Nothing will be able to take your place
in this very tiny window of opportunity in your baby's life, so be
proud and enjoy!??
Pamela Morrison IBCLC
Rustington, England
---------------------------------
>When teaching anyone about breastfeeding it really is important to avoid
>'benefit' or 'advantage' based messages. In fact there are no benefits to
>breastfeeding, only risks associated with artificial feeding. To get around
>this when speaking to audiences for whom bottle feeding is (culturally)
>normal or expected, I use a 'breastfeeding is important because' kind of
>message. So instead of a watch signifying that breastfeeding saves time
>(which implies that bottle feeding is the normal way to feed but
>breastfeeding is the new, you beaut, time saving way of feeding babies) I
>would say, Breastfeeding is important because babies need to spend a lot of
>time with their mothers. Mothers who bottle feed have some of that time
>stolen away because they need to use it to prepare feeds/ wash and sterilise
>bottles. Instead of breastfeeding prevents illness (which implies that
>normal babies get illnesses but babies fed the you beaut new milk get a bit
>of a bonus), I would say, Breastfeeding is important because it protects
>babies from illness. When they are not breastfed, babies can get very sick.
>Not only does infant formula not protect babies from illness, it actually
>makes their bodies more susceptable to nasty bugs.
>If we want this next generation to understand that breastfeeding is
>important, if we want them to understand that artificial feeding is a risky
>behaviour, rather than a lifestyle choice, we need to abandon all talk of
>advantages or benefits of breastfeeding. These messages actually mislead
>mothers by failing to convey the gravity of first feeding behaviours. For a
>fuller discussion, look at ... Berry, N & K Gribble, Breast is no longer
>best: promoting normal
>infant feeding, Maternal and Child Nutrition: 4, pp. 74-79
>Regards
>Nina Berry
>Australia
***********************************************
Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome
|
