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Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:56:15 +0100
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>
>
>I find it amazing the number of WIC moms over the years
>who have sat in their office and in front of their
>children point to the ones that breastfeed and said,
>"they are healthier, they are smarter and they are calmer
>children, I wish I had know with the first ones".  It's
>like their own little controlled experiment.


I hate to rain on this parade but this is anything but controlled as 
an experiment!

They're  subsequent children, for a start :)

That's enough to make a massive difference in mother's perception, as 
well as in anything objective about outlook and behaviour.

>
>The story that a Lactnerer told a few months ago about
>doing the same activity with a group of LLL children
>versus another group of children at a picnic was really
>telling.  I have shared that story a number of times.

But this is easily shot to pieces, too, sorry!  LLL children have 
*mothers who chose to breastfeed* in a society where breastfeeding is 
often unwelcome. This could easily be the difference. They have been 
*parented differently* by people with a different outlook from the 
mainstream.  The breastfeeding is an association, a marker, for the 
difference.

In the UK, at least, there would also be socio-economic differences 
between the groups.

I am sure a lot of us know to be careful about drawing conclusions 
from these sorts of observations - even though they are tempting to 
make.

My own literature trawl (described in previous post) showed the 
limitations of any sort of 'cause and effect' study. Far more 
fruitful, as  Liz Brooks showed, is to explore what *supports* 
healthy emotional and social functioning in terms of early 
relationships, and breastfeeding makes it easier to check  every 
single one of those boxes,  for sure - from the biochemical to the 
neurological to the psychodynamic.

Infant mental health is a hugely fascinating area of study.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK

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