Why some mothers can't pump
Diane Wiessinger wrote:
> I mean, a good pump, a full milk supply, how many reasons can there be that a good pump doesn't work?
And Laura wrote:
>I had to totally engross my mind on some other task and "forget" that I was
pumping... then watch out! I could overflow a 4 ounce bottle in moments.
So, for me, I think it was absolutely a mental/psychological block which may
have been rooted in the fact that I did not want to be away from my baby. <
Maybe we should be asking different questions, like:
- Why SHOULD a mother be able to pump?
or
- How come so many mothers ARE able to pump?
We all know that even in the best of circumstances, not even the very
best pumps can get as much milk as a well-attached baby. In fact, we
caution mothers that the amount of milk they can pump is not a true
indication of how much milk a baby can get by nursing directly.
But quite besides this, mothers bond to their BABIES, not their pumps.
Pumping your milk is not like donating blood.
Breastfeeding is a whole lot more than transferring milk from one
person to another.
It involves emotions, feelings, hormones, biological drives and basic
instincts. It is a very complex behaviour pattern that we have only
just begun to explore.
We are not *programmed* to fall in love with a piece of machinery
We live in an increasingly mechanized world. We have almost come to
the point of believing that machines can substitute for human
interaction. Just think of how many people use computers – machinery –
to find a mate. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing in itself,
but it is different to face to face interaction.
In the same way, pumping is not the same as nursing a baby. We know
this in a touchy-feely way, even though we may try to rationalize it
intellectually. While pumping, in certain circumstances, an be useful
or even essential, it is different to nursing a baby.
I do not have answers, just more questions.
norma
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