Interesting point, Pam. I grew up in Central Africa and I recall that the majority of the women I observed in public were breastfeeding in very much a "biological nurturing position" as most of them were being carried 'sling-style' on the mom's back and simply slung around to the front where mom popped out a breast to nurse. The baby was in a full frontal position and upright (or semi-upright) to mom who aften continued to walk through the market or sit on the bus as she breastfed. I don't recall any pillows or other supports, nor any careful hand holds or football positions. :-) 

I wasn't really paying a lot of attention at the time as breastfeeding in public wasn't a big deal or really paid much attention to, and I was too young to be thinking about what I would be doing when I grew up :-) 

We lived out 'in the bush' with rural africans and this was years ago. Maybe it is different now? I do remember my mother and father talking about one mother who had 2 babies who died because she fed them orange fanta in bottles to mimic the more affluent women in the urban areas who were often doing some formula feeding and she could not afford the formula!

Holly McSpadden, IBCLC 

>>> Pamela Morrison <[log in to unmask]> 7/15/2012 9:04:28 AM >>>
Thanks so much to all who have been discussing this thread - it's 
been so interesting.

Regarding the Biological Nurturing "position", I'm looking forward to 
hearing Suzanne Colson speak about this again later this week (this 
time in the flesh!)  But, just to raise a tantalizing question - in 
all my years growing up watching African mothers breastfeeding their 
babies (anywhere, any time) and then as an LC helping the ones who 
did experience difficulties (surprise, surprise!) I never once saw BN 
being used - not in the street, not in their homes, not in hospitals 
after birth, not by mothers who had had C/sections and might be 
particularly keen to take advantage of a way to breastfeed that might 
be more natural/biological.  So when I listen to the quite frequent 
condemnation of other (anti-gravity?) ways to breastfeed, I do have 
to wonder .....

Pamela Morrison IBCLC
Rustington, England
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