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From:
Cynthia Good Mojab <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:10:57 -0800
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Heidi Wald writes: "However, is it feasible that in our country and our
culture women would breastfeed for two years to get the added reduction in
breast cancer risk? I like the campaign idea that was proposed on Lactnet
that brought this topic to my attention, but would women be willing to
stick to it?"
I would suggest that you become familiar with the literature describing the
biological normalcy of nursing for longer than most people in Western
cultures believe is appropriate and the roles that culture, politics,
economics, etc. play in how breastfeeding happens in a given society. A
basic understanding of these two topics is critical to understanding under
what circumstances women are "enabled" to breastfeed their children in a
way that matches the biologically based needs of mothers and
children--circumstances we wouldn't even be discussing here if our culture
wasn't actively *preventing* women from breastfeeding in a way that matches
the biologically based needs of the mother-nursling pair.

* Good Mojab, C. The cultural art of breastfeeding. Leaven, Vol. 36 No. 5,
October-November 2000; pp. 87-91. (Full text can be read from the
publications page of my website: http://home.attbi.com/~ammawell)
* Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives, Edited by Patricia
Stuart-Macadam and Kathryn Dettwyler
* Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Parent by
Meredith Small
* Milk, Money, and Madness: The Culture and Politics of Breastfeeding by
Naomi Baumslag and Dia Michels
* Mothering Your Nursing Toddler by Norma Jane Bumgarner
* Ourselves as Mothers: The Universal Experience of Motherhood by Sheila
Kitzinger

You also might find my July 2002 newspaper commentary, "The real
breastfeeding issue goes far beyond mere guilt," of interest. It addresses
breast cancer and infant feeding, how we tend to talk about breastfeeding's
culturally created "benefits" instead of formula feeding's actual risks,
and the many social forces that undermine women's efforts to breastfeed.
(It can be read in full from the publications page of my website:
http://home.attbi.com/~ammawell.)

Remember: Culture is changeable.

Hope this helps,

Cynthia

Cynthia Good Mojab, MS clinical psychology, IBCLC, RLC
Ammawell
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web site: http://home.attbi.com/~ammawell

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