It occurred to me that there is another way to view this dynamic, which 
may further help illuminate why the breastfeeding rates are so low in 
the unit. 

What struck me was the comments about how much of the 'body' nurses and 
other care givers see in their roles, and how could they object to 
seeing a mother pump, given the legs up in stirrups etc.

And what occurred to me that is the NICU situation, the women has taken 
control of her own body.  In the stirrups situation, her body is under 
the control of those giving the care.  They have decided what she does 
with it, and are in charge of how to proceed with the treatment.  This 
mother is not only taking charge on her own terms, she's resisting their 
power when they object.  She isn't a patient in their eyes - the baby 
is.  She's a visitor, and a visitor that's flashing her breasts in front 
of them.  They do not like that they can't control this action, and take 
charge of her body.  So they complain that they are having an unwelcome 
sight inflicted upon them. 

Just as people in the Mall, or the park do.   

The fact that, for this baby, the mother is providing medical care in 
that her food is so much more powerful than just food/formula, isn't a 
feature in their thinking.  She is outside their control and authority.  
They don't like that.  I imagine if you put the stirrups analogy to 
them, they'd say "We don't want to see a women with her legs in the air 
when out shopping!".

I do know women who pump just as openly in an office environment, as 
their work conditions mean they have to.  It is accepted, as the office 
environment accepts it's her body, and she can do what she wants with 
it, and the fellow workers have to deal with any personal discomfort.  
Equally, I remember the post from just a week or so back, about the 
women worker pumping in her car in the break, and being asked not to.  I 
imagine that if these nurses were in an office environment, they'd be 
condemning the mother equally.  And that's the point, really.  They 
don't like that she's not 'their patient' and are treating her as an 
interloper in their day and routine.

Power struggles over the ownership of a body during treatment is 
something that all medical care struggles with.  But we tend to forget, 
until a mother starts to nurse her baby, that it's a huge cultural issue 
too.  Some people just don't' like the women being in charge, and 
choosing to 'expose' others to her power.  I suspect this department 
loves its power over the bodies of its charges, and is fighting tooth 
and claw to retain it.  Formula keeps them in control - all neat and 
tidy and motherless and right down in the forms how much baby has had.  
Satisfied tick of boxes and move on.  Breastfeeding diminishes their 
power and authority.  Pumping in the open, slaps them across the face 
and rattles their teeth!

Morgan Gallagher





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