Susan writes:
>As Heather rightly points out, the media discussion about "versus"
>is not really the point. The point is that we have a major public
>health issue that was iatrogenically induced and endorsed for
>several generations. It is on a scale as large or even larger than
>the current obesity/diabetes epidemic (which is probably really
>endemic now). We shouldn't be bombarded with articles about why
>breastfeeding keeps women from being their fuller selves. We should
>be having serious discussions about how to put into place the proper
>environment for parents to be able to feed their infants as
>healthily as possible.
Yes, yes, yes! Just as it takes a village to raise a child (pace,
Mrs C) it takes an entire culture to feed a baby - yet our culture
does the meanest and most contradictory thing to mothers.
It says it is their fault when bf doesn't work for them, and that
they should feel i) guilty and cruel about formula *and/or* ii)
stupid for thinking it matters and making a fuss.
It is very easy for a mother to believe, like Lewis Carroll's Red
Queen, 'six impossible things before breakfast' when it comes to her
mothering.
Naturally enough, most mothers know that their babies are adorable
and they duly adore them - they would not harm a hair on their heads.
So at some level, they refuse to take 'the blame' and rightly so - so
who do they blame?
The 'breastfeeding propaganda brigade' or whatever 'gang' they say
people like us are from. Because we are the ones saying,
consistently, that it *does* matter how babies are fed and by
extension, it does matter how *your* baby is fed. Not a pleasant
message, to some.
I think the damage to the *emotional and psychological well-being*
of a culture (and individuals) that results from 'beating normal
infant physiology into submission' (great phrase, Susan!) is at least
as damaging as the public health effect, but I can't quantify that
anything like as easily as we can count up obesity, diabetes,
gastro-enteritis and other physical morbidities. We don't just try
to beat the normal physiology into submission, we try to do the same
with an infant's normal emotional and social needs - in fact the
culture distorts these needs horribly with poor substitute care,
scheduling, ignoring the needs, belittling them. I could go on.
> Instead of breastfeeding like bottlefeeders, we should help those
>who cannot fully breastfeed their babies bottle feed like
>breastfeeders. And that means embracing normal infant physiology
>instead of trying to beat it into submission. And assisting parents
>to feel good about the actions they can take when they have problems.
Yes - this may not 'fix' the physical effects of ff but it can
mitigate the emotional ones.
Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK
--
http://www.heatherwelford.co.uk
http://heatherwelford.posterous.com
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