Bravo, Diane : )


The reason why, sadly, the emotional/relationship side of things was
not a feature of the discussion was because the list was in a knot
about 'proof'.

And if definite proof of *health* effects on 100 per cent of the
population is hard to come by, it's even harder to talk 'proof' when
it comes to unmeasurable emotional stuff !


I am glad to chip in, and to offer a possible analogy that might
allow us all to accept that 'not breastfeeding' at least puts
children in some form of 'deficit'.

Let's take a six to seven year old child (who, for the sake of
argument,  bf well into childhood, until he/she gradually stopped).

Let's take him/her away from parents who love and cherish him/her,
and put him/her somewhere else - anywhere else.  Permanently. He/she
is fed and clothed adequately. But he/she is no longer with loving,
cherishing adults.

This is of course reality for children everywhere in history and
today, because of war, death, poverty, whatever; it's even been
culturally normal in some societies.

He/she may grow up 'perfectly fine' with no visible 'damage'. Or, we
would not be surprised to find out that the very same experience has
contributed to serious harm.

Whatever the measurable, visible outcome,  we would expect that
experience to leave that child 'in deficit'...going short of
something, in other words.

He/she has that deficit to overcome, somehow, partially or wholly,
and (like the formula fed child whose immune system may or may not
come into contact with something too big to fight) overcoming it may
even be a matter of chance (whom he or she meets, the place he/she
stays in, whether the adults  are violent, and so on).


The proof?


Well, we  could never prove that taking away six year old children
from their parents forever would definitely be harmful to each one of
them, let alone measure it.

But we wouldn't say it doesn't matter to the vast majority, simply
because we don't have the proof it affects all of them.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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