The article Karleen mentions, about emergency preparedness and the
'convenience' of breastfeeding in emergencies, is illustrated with a picture
of a masculine-appearing person bottle feeding a baby while a woman smiles
in the background.  Argggh.

Another myth I hear a lot is that mothers can't breastfeed if they are
'stressed' or 'upset' or even if they haven't had a full night's sleep in
the last few days.  All hogwash.  There wouldn't be many people on earth if
breastfeeding failed every time someone crossed us, or we had to wake during
the night for some remote reason or other.

Of course it's true that mothers who are seriously undernourished and
desperately unhappy can produce milk, as can mothers who are not at the peak
of wellness and prosperity, and mothers who are unsupported by their
communities or partners.  Mothers who are in flight from natural or
human-caused disasters, fearing for their lives, can breastfeed their
babies. It's no exaggeration to call making milk a superpower. We do need to
fight the dangerous myths that increase the vulnerability of children and
their mothers in emergency situations.  It's good that it is the theme of
WBW this year.

When it comes to analyzing the details of a particular situation in which
breastfeeding is under threat, unless you are an eyewitness, you may not
know enough to make statements about who is to blame.  You may also risk
offending someone even closer to the situation, and causing fruitful
dialogue to break down, in which case no one is helped.  Comparing one
horrible situation to another is probably irrelevant.  We saw tendencies in
this direction with the way the thread about Gaza was going - it is unlikely
that everyone on this list would agree about why things are the way they are
in Gaza but I hope everyone would agree that getting help to keep
breastfeeding going there is the right approach. 

If you do have first-hand knowledge of why babies in a particular place are
not getting appropriate nutrition or why their mothers are not getting
appropriate help to feed them safely, you are obligated to see to it that
that knowledge reaches someone who can make a difference.  You don't have a
choice, do you, if you care at all about children's health?  It's never the
fault of the children. Never.

Karleen's suggestion that we make known what a family needs in order to be
able to continue artificial feeding in an emergency is brilliant.  Twenty
four liters of water per child per day, and that is assuming absolutely no
wasted feeds - that is over six gallons daily, JUST FOR FEEDING THE BABY. 
We're not even talking about the rest of the family.  A breastfed baby's
mother requires a minimal increase in fluid intake, and with a little more,
and more stimulation, she can probably produce safe food and drink for an
extra child besides her own, if need be.  It really points up the madness of
suggesting artificial feeding as a remedy in any setting where water and
fuel availability are uncertain. It is an expression for a very insidious
form for contempt for women, to say that we can't perform well under adversity. 

Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome