-----Original Message-----
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2001 10:04:16 -0400
From: Katherine Dettwyler <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Tandem nursing in "traditional" cultures
<<I think tandem nursing in "traditional" cultures is, and always has been,
extremely rare.>>
<<I suspect that the society with the highest level of tandem nursing is the
modern day United States, where we combine excellent nutrition in the
mothers with semi-scheduled feedings and sleeping through the night at an
early age and only six weeks of post-partum sex taboos -- such that the
mother's fecundity returns early and she gets pregnant again, while still
devoted to the idea of child-led weaning. I'm sure my sample of mothers
nursing children to age 3 and beyond has a much higher percentage of tandem
nursing situations than any where in the world or any time else in the
history of the world.
Kathy Dettwyler>>>
Kathy,
A very interesting post. I enjoyed reading your insights on this. I have
had little experience with "traditional" cultures myself, but would like to
share my experience with an Amish patient I cared for briefly. That is
about the most "traditional" culture I have encountered (or am likely to
encounter, for that matter) in rural Wisconsin. There are a handful of
Amish folks living around here and although they generally birth at home and
do not utilize our medical services often, they sometimes make a 'courtesy'
prenatal visit or two to the clinic, so that in the event that they sought
out our services, they would then have established care with one of the
local MDs.
Anyway, I clearly recall one pleasant young couple coming in in mid-second
trimester for a visit. It was their fourth child. I inquired about
breastfeeding, expecting that she would breastfeed, but curious as to how
long the local Amish women breastfed for. The response and the discussion
which ensued was priceless. I have no idea if this reflects
practices/attitudes of the Amish culture in general or just this particular
couple, but it was very interesting to me.
First off, the wife and husband both seemed genuinely surprised that I would
even *ask* if the baby would be breastfed. Of course it would. And when I
asked how long she planned to breastfeed for, they seemed even more puzzled
by that question. The mother replied, "well, for as long as I can, of
course". When I pursued the question further and asked, "how long is that?"
She told me that she would nurse until she became pregnant again and her
milk dried up and the child weaned. I gathered that to her this typically
meant 1-2 years. This was said in a very matter of fact tone, almost as
though she thought me a very dense doctor indeed to have to ask such stupid
questions. LOL!
So then, I proceeded to ask what would happen if the baby *didn't* wean.
She and her husband both said they'd never thought of that. "They always
do", was the response. Then I told them that sometimes they did not and in
fact, my own child had not. Then they asked me what I did. "Nurse them
both", I said. They thought about it a moment and then the mother replied,
"well, that would be like nursing twins then." It seemed to be a novel idea
to them, but they were either accepting of it or too gracious to let on
otherwise. ;-) The father was much more interested in learning how I could
nurse two babies and still go to work, which led to a discussion of pumping
(and the inevitable comparison of me to a cow). But, I digress.
Interesting story though. I think it is good for us to be reminded
sometimes of how our cultural biases tend to influence our thinking, whether
it be about lactation or other areas of our lives. What seems absolutely
obvious, normative, a "given" to a person of one cultural background is not
at all so to another.
Catharine C. Decker, MD
Family Medicine/Urgent Care
Luther-Midelfort Clinic
Mayo Health System
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