Well said, Maureen.  Bravo!
Amy Wagner, BS, RNC, CCES, IBCLC

Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 12, 2015, at 10:53 AM, Maureen MINCHIN <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> While I think the first feed may be helped by olfaction, I hope no one goes down this path and suggests modern women shouldn’t bathe for many hours or days, or breastfeeding is going to be seen as wacky, frankly. Please remember that glands go on producing secretions, and smell is renewed when they do. Milk smells like milk, and babies know that they want it. Old studies showed that never-breastfed babies some days or weeks old  “oriented preferentially” to the smell of lactatiing women’s breast pads, turning away from the smell of their own mothers’ bodies. They didn’t need amniotic fluid traces to tell them that MILK smells yummy. If they did need amniotic smells to guide them, the breast would be producing just those smells. Let’s get real about constantly secreting glands being capable of giving the right messages to babies. Milk smells like milk and babies are programmed milk-seeking missiles.Babies can smell milk through clothing. 
> 
> But yes, we can smother natural scents with chemical laden soaps and deodorants and perfumes and that should be discouraged,  It’s a courtesy to everyone, not least the baby, to avoid pongy chemicals, as the problem of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is real, and not uncommon. Many perfumes cause asthma attacks and headaches and much more: geting trapped ina ift with some aftershaves or perfumes can make anyone sick. Go for the unscented or minimally-scented deodorants certainly, or use none if you don’t need it, but wash when you want to. 
> 
> We do not need to add to the “Ick” factor of breastfeeding by telling women to stay smelly. That will not play well.
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