I agree with the need to put emphasis on correct language and terminology. Yeserday my academic season started with my first day in class for the new IBCLCs2B and I started my day on anatomy and physiology of breastfeeding and lactation with a topic on terminology wherein I stressed the differences between breastfeeding, at-breast-feeding, mother's milk , bottle feeding and formula, pointing out the differences between some being processes and others products. Not only the differences between breastfeeding, mother's milk and lactation need exploration, but, especially in my language, the differences between formula feeding and bottle feeding and human milk feeding, because formula in Dutch is ''kunstvoeding'', which means artificial feeding. Moms tend to not like that word (it has a tendency towards fake) and rather use bottlefeeding. At the other hand moms who pump and bottle feed tend to say that they breastfeed or that they express breastfeeding (in
Dutch that seems at least linguistic possible). That's why I need to explain that breastfeeding is a process initiated by the child and not a product that can be harvested.
Some of the students got that blanc look on their faces, others started to nod in recognition.
Warmly,
Gonneke, IBCLC, retired LLLL, MOM in southern Netherlands
--- On Wed, 10/7/09, Chris Mulford <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: Chris Mulford <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [LACTNET] terminology
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 1:29 PM
10/7/09
Dear Marianne,
In case it's useful for you, I'm sending a list of "non-nutritional" reasons to feed a baby at breast instead of with a bottle. Many of these ideas come from List facilitator Karleen Gribble's on-line article about adoptive nursing. (Thank you, Karleen) You may already have thought of all these reasons, but possibly something will trigger a new idea for you.
Skin-to-skin contact, touch, smell, taste, warmth
Easy beginning of "feeds"--mom just adjusts her clothing (lift shirt, open bra, drop scoop-neck blouse, etc.)
Share bacteria, stimulate production of maternal antibodies through MALT
Simultaneous hormonal responses: oxytocin, CCK
Mother and baby can both rest or sleep while nursing.
Sucking soothes baby with and without milk transfer.
Interaction, baby-led “architecture” of feeding: frequency, duration, number of breasts
Better oxygenation than bottle feeding (proved in premies, possibly true also for other babies)
Milk fat content rises across the duration of feed.
Development of jaw, dental arch, & upper airway
And now it looks as if we can add:
Milk content specific to time of day or night
I think I do see what the “other side” might mean by the sentence you quoted. ("The more normal breastfeeding is in our society, the more bottles and teats will be associated with breastfeeding.") In a society where bottles and teats already are the norm (sadly, this is true of the USA), then as people take up breastfeeding more and more, they may do it by adding it to the feeding method they already know. Perhaps pumping mother’s milk and putting into a bottle will turn out to be a *transitional step* from feeding formula by bottle to feeding mother’s milk by breast with a subsequent baby. A pumping mother does have to handle her breasts. She does have to think about herself as a source of nourishment and protection for her baby—not so easily replaced by other people as she would be if she were feeding formula in that bottle. This is new behavior, a new self-concept, for someone who thought her job as a mother was to buy formula and keep
bottles and teats clean.
I would like to hear from Lactnetters in other countries where a trend toward bottle-feeding with formula was reversed and breastfeeding “came back” as the normal method of feeding. Was there a transitional step of pump & bottle for some women?
Mind you, I am not condoning the normalization of bottles, teats, and pumps in breastfeeding literature. We should see them as what they are: just *tools* for infant feeding. Sometimes they are appropriate and helpful tools in difficult breastfeeding situations. Sometimes they become an excuse not to go on working to solve a problem, or a way to avoid admitting there even IS a problem—“Oh, well, I can pump and bottle feed and not deal with my anxieties about letting my baby have access to my body…” With our society’s unfortunate emphasis on the *feeding* part of breastfeeding, we risk losing sight of the reality that baby feeding is an intimate physical/emotional/social relationship that involves two people’s bodies.
I support an editorial standard that refuses ads for infant feeding tools, especially since they are covered by the Code. I also want to point out that you can’t judge direction by looking at only one point on a graph. If more people are pumping and bottling now, are they people who breastfed with previous babies or people who bottle fed previous babies with formula? The former situation is a problem; the latter is progress.
Virginia pointed out the need for accurate terminology, and I agree. If breastfeeding is increasing in a particular region, is that because breastmilk feeding is increasing and is being lumped with breastfeeding in the data? We won’t know unless we make that distinction when we gather more detailed and specific data on feeding method.
Cheers,
Chris
Chris Mulford, BSN, IBCLC
Project Coordinator, the PA-BC Business Case for Breastfeeding
Co-coordinator, Women & Work Task Force, World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
“When she gives birth, every woman has the potential resource of breastmilk for two years or more. This ample food resource is perfectly targeted, already distributed to households with the need, and should be controlled by the mother and baby.” --Helen Armstrong (1995)
Breastfeeding as the foundation of care. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, United Nations Univ Press, 16:4, 299-312.
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