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Wed, 23 Feb 2000 15:51:05 -0600 |
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Hi Tricia,
You don't say exactly what age this mom is but I had contact recently
with a teen mom-to-be. She had heard about the health benefits of BF, but
they didn't seem to affect her strongly (maybe because so many babies she
sees are 'just fine' on bottles). Seeing BF as a health issue puts it in
the same boat with the 100 other things they've heard about that are
'good for' them, from not smoking to eating broccoli to buckling up to
increasing the fiber in their diet.... I sometimes think we in the U.S.
suffer from 'health scare fatigue' - after awhile we just say 'according
to the experts, everything is bad for me, so I may as well forget it and
do what I want'.
This young mom became enthused about breastfeeding after reading an
excerpt of Gabrielle Palmer's 'The Politics of Breastfeeding'. The
excerpt was in Mothering magazine, Summer 1991. I think a lot of
teenagers have a wonderful idealism that hasn't yet been dampened by
discouraging experiences. They have a keen sense of justice and so
understanding BF as a social and political issue can inspire them. I
think she liked seeing herself as a rebel, bucking the multinational
powers-that-be (as opposed to a 'boring' person who plays it safe and
does what they're 'supposed' to do).
Good luck, and I hope this helps -
Marcia McCoy
[log in to unmask]
in Minnesota, where the rapidly melting snow smells like Spring, sounds
like Spring, looks like Spring, but can't possibly BE Spring, not in Feb.
in MN
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