I just received my copy of JHL and read with interest Kathleen Auerbach's review of Desmond Morris's book, "Illustrated Babywatching." It mentions the "welter of misinformation and unproven statements blended with more accurate information." I have to tell you that he has not learned a great deal about human breasts and breastfeeding in the last 29 years!

I have in front of me a copy of "The Naked Ape," which Morris, a zoologist, wrote in 1967. In it, he talks about the female breasts as being "primarily a sexual signalling device rather than an expanded milk machine." (p92-94, Corgi paperback edition).

        "It is the solid, rounded shape that causes both these problems."
(referring to airway blockage and poor latch on)
        "One has only to look at the design of the teats on babies' bottles to see the shape that works best. It is much longer and does not swell out onto the great rounded hemisphere that causes so much difficulty for the baby's mouth and nose. It is much closer in design to the feeding apparatus of the female chimpanzee. She develops slightly swollen breasts, but even in full lactation she is flat-chested when compared to the average female of our species. Her nipples, on the other hand, are much more elongated and protrusive and the infant has little or no difficulty in intiating the sucking activity. Because our females have rather a heavy sucking burden and because breasts are so obviously a part of the feeding apparatus, we have automatically assumed that their protruding, rounded shape must also be part and parcel of the same parental activity. But now it looks as though this assumption has been wrong and that, for our species, breast design is primarily sexual rather than !
 maternal in function."



Well, no wonder so many babies have problems nursing! I just knew that there was something that we were missing. I guess we'd might as well turn in our
LLLLeader and ILCA cards, revoke our subscriptions to JHL, and go to work for the people who *really* know what babies need!

Oh well!



Norma Ritter, IBCLC, LLLL
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               Date: 06/13/96
               Time: 17:45:52
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