Breastfeeding is an example of a skill that can be learned in several ways, all of which end up in a physical, kinesthetic knowledge.
I was breastfed.  The first time I fed my daughter I got a shock.  Instead of the new experience I was prepared to have for the very first time, I felt certain clear through to my bones that I had done it before, and I felt that I had become my own mother, feeding me.
I watched my daughter as a toddler and preschooler 'breastfeeding' dolls, teddy bears, and later, her own newborn brother.  She invariably got into a comfortable sitting position, held the doll, or bear, or whatever in a perfect, secure en face position, looked radiantly into its eyes, brought it close to her body, and shut out the rest of the world.  She had never witnessed a bottle feeding, much less experienced it.
I contrast her behaviour with the practices I see among hospital staff when bottle feeding newborns where I work.  They hold the baby at arm's length, facing slightly away from their own body, and converse with others in the room or watch TV.  It makes me intensely physically uncomfortable.
I believe I can tell at a glance which women have never seen breastfeeding, or never experienced mother-baby intimacy, by watching the way they feed their infants.  It shows clearly, regardless of feeding method.  If my supposition is correct, my daughter will need very little practical or theoretical help to get started breastfeeding if and when the occasion should arise.
Rachel Myr

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