>Yes.  This is what I learn from the study at Evergreen Hospital (at least at
>it was reported on this list -- I confess to not having read the underlying
>report) about comparing epidural rates to bf rates there.   They had lots of
>epidurals but great bf rates.   Lots of us were incredulous about this, but
>from what I heard their numbers were pretty clear.
>
>I understand this to indicate that the connection so many of us see between
>birth interventions and bf trouble is mostly correlative, rather than
>causative.  Disempower birthing mothers and model the unnaturalness of
>women's bodies, and you will tend to get both lots of birth interventions and
>also lousy bf rates.

I don't think this indicates non-causation at all.  I think it indicates
that birth interventions do affect breastfeeding negatively, but that their
impact isn't enough on its own to sabotage breastfeeding -- to do that you
need lots of other anti-breastfeeding things going on as well.  See my
blocks and strings analogy in the archives.

Kathy Dettwyler

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