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Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
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Fri, 9 Jun 2000 11:55:26 EDT
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Nicole Bernshaw wrote:

<< Create a need and make money. However, it is not so simple. Throughout
history, we see mothers wanting to separate themselves from their babies. >>

Those of you interested in Jewish studies may want to see the current issue
of _Nashim: a journal of Jewish Women's studies and gender issues_.   The
whole issue is devoted to stuff about motherhood.

In particular, there is a very interesting article by Gail Labovitz about
what we can learn about breastfeeding in mishnaic times (roughly 200 BCE
until 200 CE) from the period's legal texts.   The context, generally, is
that breastfeeding was one of the "labors" a wife was obligated to perform,
along with cooking and spinning, as part of the marital ecomonic exchange in
which her husband had to provide her with food, clothing, shelter, etc.  If
she brought servants to the marriage, however, she may be exempt from all of
those labors -- that is, she was entitled to give her child to a wet nurse.
However, if the child "knows her" -- that is, once the infant can recognize
its own mother -- she may not send it any more to a wet nurse, because then
it will be in danger, apparently because it may refuse to be fed by a
stranger.

There's more, including a bunch of cites to the texts.  I recommend the
article -- very intelligently done.

But it is clear that some proportion of these ancient women saw it a) as a
relief from obligation NOT to bf their children  AND b) as an economic issue
-- even before the advent of Playtex and Enfamil.

So I agree with Nicole that it's important in our own day not to simplify low
bf rates as being EXCLUSIVELY about corporate distortion (even though
obviously that is a huge factor).  This speaks to Mimi's point, too, that
it's not as if Black moms will wake up to breastfeeding just because a bunch
of strangers come around suggesting it in a video with faces of color in it.
People want a lot of contradictory things in this life, and for us to treat
the reasons NOT to bf as trivial is not only patronizing, it is also
ineffective bf advocacy.

Elisheva Urbas
NYC

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